RESULTS Weekly Update September 6, 2023

Quote of the Week

“The READ Act Reauthorization Act requires the U.S. to update our strategy to improve foundational and literacy around the world.”

– RESULTS Austin volunteer Isabelle Kidon in an August 27 letter to the editor in the San Antonio Express

Table of Contents

• Senate tuberculosis letter deadline is tomorrow, September 7
• Join National Webinar this Saturday to Build the Buy-In
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Senate tuberculosis letter deadline is tomorrow, September 7

Two more days! Just two more days to get signatures on a crucial Senate tuberculosis (TB) sign-on letter to the Biden Administration asking them to show bold leadership at the UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on tuberculosis on September 22. Thanks in great part to you, we now have 22 signers. How high can we climb with signatures in these final hours? The power of this letter comes is that it not only calls on Congress to champion tuberculosis treatment and prevention, but it calls on the Administration to do so as well. The more signatures we gain, the greater the influence and positive pressure. We may gain many more signatures now that the Senate is back in session, but don’t take that for granted. Reach out now.

TAKE ACTION: In these last two days before the deadline, ask for signatures on the Senate UNHLM tuberculosis letter. When contacting Senate offices, please send them a copy of the letter and the reasons why you want them to sign. Let your senators know why this issue is important to you and that the deadline is September 7 with no time for delay. For help in figuring out what you wish to say, use messaging from our online alert.

Join National Webinar this Saturday to Build the Buy-In

Please join us for the RESULTS National Webinar this Saturday, September 9 at 1:00 pm ET. As summer comes to a close, we anticipate an active and unpredictable fall in Congress. This webinar will help you get ready. We’ll kick things off with a celebration of your lobbying efforts this summer and updates from our policy staff on where things are and where things are going on our U.S. and global poverty priorities. We’ll then officially kick off our fall grassroots advocacy campaign – Build the Buy-in! This campaign will include a big media push and other strategic actions to build support in Congress to take significant action on poverty this year. To help us get started, the webinar will include inspiring grassroots shares, celebrations of your fabulous work, and more. Please join us.

TAKE ACTION: Join the RESULTS National Webinar this Saturday, September 9, 1:00-2:30 pm ET. If you have not registered the National Webinar in 2023, register today (you only need register once per year). You will receive your registration confirmation and Zoom login information later this week via e-mail (please check your junk or spam folders if you have not received anything by Friday afternoon). Because the webinar is not divided into issue segments, we ask that volunteers join at 1:00 pm ET and stay for the duration. The webinar slides and recording will be available on our National Webinars page.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Invite staffers to International Literacy Day Hill briefing. Invite your House and Senate offices’ foreign policy staff members to RSVP for a Hill briefing and breakfast, co-hosted by RESULTS, on September 13, 8:30-10:00 am ET. This event will celebrate International Literacy Day and educate members of Congress about the READ Act reauthorization. Staffers and Members can RSVP online.

Help us gain momentum on READ Act co-sponsorships. Foundational numeracy and literacy are building blocks for the future. Ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the READ Act (H.R.681, S.41) in both chambers. We need to gain steam on this crucial legislation. Have you made your requests yet?

Continue to ask for End Tuberculosis Now Act co-sponsorships. The End Tuberculosis Now Act has successfully moved through committee in both chambers. The next step includes more co-sponsorships and seeing that the bills have floor time for passage. Ask your representatives and senators to co-sponsor the bill (you can use our online alert). Why the End Tuberculosis Now Act? This is part of our strategy to garner strong U.S. leadership and buy-in in the run-up to the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis this fall . . . and beyond.

Persistence pays off. If you weren’t able to secure congressional meetings during the August recess, there’s no reason for despair. Respectful persistence is the key ingredient, and you can find some inspiration to keep striving for a great relationship with your members of Congress in our latest blogpost. Keep pushing for those meetings and don’t hesitate to ask RESULTS staff for help.

2022 poverty data coming next week. On September 12, the U.S. Census will release its annual report showing the U.S. poverty data for 2022. This will include data showing the impact of anti-poverty programs in keeping Americans out of poverty. On our September U.S. Policy Forum, CHN’s Senior Director of Public Policy (and former RESULT staff person) Meredith Dodson will walk us through the data. Register for the September U.S. Forum today.

Media hooks for the week. Use the hook ideas below to submit a letter to the editor this week. If you need a template, use our online media actions to edit and submit your letter today.

• U.S. Poverty: A new ITEP report shows that expanding the Child Tax Credit would improve racial equity in the tax code. Cite this study as a hook for a letter to the editor urging Congress to expand the CTC.
• Global Poverty: International Literacy Day is this Friday. Use this special day as a hook for your own letter to the editor on global education and the READ Act (H.R.681, S.41).

Announcements

Join October 14 special National Webinar. This October National Webinar will be a special webinar on a special day. On October 14 from Noon ET to 3:00 pm ET, we’ll use this webinar to take a deeper look at how “work requirements” in U.S. poverty programs have been weaponized as tools of oppression. The agenda includes a panel discussion from experts on this issue and a grassroots-led advocacy training on how to talk about it (with a short break in-between). You’ll gain a foundational understanding of how pervasive work and income requirements are harmful and learn effective ways to oppose these harmful policies through your advocacy. Register today!

Don’t miss out on the next Diversity & Inclusion 101 session. On September 29 at 12:00 pm ET, Dr. Christina Gunther, Ed.D. will offer an important way to engage with our values. During this session, we’ll define critical terms, identify why inclusion is important, define implicit bias, describe how biases are developed and what influences them, identify implicit personal biases, and identify the value of disrupting those biases. We’re urging all Group Leaders – current and future – to particularly prioritize taking this training. Register here for this 90-minute learning opportunity.

Virtual Group Leader training open for registration. Are you a current (or even aspiring) RESULTS Group Leader? You are welcome to this four-part learning series to be held on four successive weeks starting October 18. Based on a series of trainings held 2015-2018, these interactive sessions will get you in touch with fellow Group Leaders, offer encouraging information about leadership itself, give you practical tools for leading your RESULTS group, and provide some fun along the way. Each session will last two hours. We hope you can attend all four sessions, and you’ll get a reminder for each session. Register today! Questions? Contact Lisa Marchal.

Are you nervous about doing a Friends and Family Fundraiser? Throughout September, we’re sharing advice from RESULTS volunteers who have learned how to be successful. Learn more.

Celebrate new volunteers who took action! Jumping into RESULTS advocacy for the first time is a huge milestone, so we want to celebrate the people who joined us in action this year. Please fill out this short form to share your experience supporting a new advocate to take action. We will send this person a congratulatory e-card and a gift as a token of our appreciation! Reach out to Alicia Stromberg with any questions.

Apply for the RESULTS Fellowship. This recent blog highlights the power of young leaders in our movement and in the world. If you know someone aged 20-35 who wants to harness their political power, sharpen skills, and take action on important issues, invite them to apply for the RESULTS Fellowship.  RESULTS Fellows advocate at the intersections of poverty and anti-oppression and learn how to work with the media, their communities, and policymakers to create change. The application is open through October 31. For more information, register for our September 13 Fellowship information session or e-mail us at [email protected].

Share Your Story. When we share our “why” for ending poverty and our experiences taking advocacy action, we build the momentum of our movement. Use our new online form to share why you take action to dismantle poverty and oppression, as well as what that action looks like. For example, write a brief account of what it felt like to draft a letter to the editor about tuberculosis or create a short video describing work to create affordable housing in your community or say how the Child Tax Credit changed your life. You can also decide how we share your story (including not at all). Thank you for sharing your story. Our experiences are our strength!

Interested in being a Regional Coordinator? The Regional Coordinator (RC) is a key player in the RESULTS community. RCs are the brilliant network of people who provide training, cheerleading, and support for our network of groups. RCs work directly with RESULTS staff members, receive leadership coaching, coaching on powerful speaking, legislative updates and attend a yearly retreat for skills development. Ideal candidates for this volunteer role have experience in a RESULTS Group Leader role, but we welcome all inquiries. Want to learn more about this unique volunteer opportunity? Contact Lisa Marchal. Let’s chat!

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: The Senate is in session this week. The House is on recess until September 12.

Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Saturday, September 9: National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Note adjusted date. Register today.

Wednesday, September 13: RESULTS Fellowship information session, 5:00 pm ET. Register today.

Thursday, September 14: New Advocate Orientation, 12:30 pm ET. Learn more and register today.

Thursday, September 14: Event Planning and Outreach Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. Learn more about this opportunity and just drop in!

Thursday, September 14: Global Allies Program with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Tuesday, September 19: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET (note the new evening time). Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, September 19: Together Women Rise/RESULTS Advocacy Chapter, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.  

Wednesday, September 20: Action Network Managers webinar, 12:30 pm and 8:00 pm ET. (Choose your time.) Join the 12:30 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/93288388695. Join the 8:00 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/91531456676.Please note that the 8:00 pm ET session will be a media training. No registration required.

Wednesday, September 20: Media Advocacy Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494. No registration required.

Thursday, September 21: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Focus: 2022 U.S. Census poverty data. Guest: Meredith Dodson, Coalition on Human Needs. Register today.  

Thursday, September 21: Global Poverty Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Focus: News on the ground on the eve of the UN High-Level Meeting on tuberculosis

Monday, September 25: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal for more information.

Wednesday, September 27: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more and register today.

Friday, September 29: Diversity and Inclusion 101, 12:00 pm ET. Read more and register about this important 90-minute webinar.

Saturday, October 14: Special National Webinar, 12:00-3:00 pm ET. Register today.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].

Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our Volunteer Information Form to add or edit volunteer info and to sign up for updates and alerts.

If you have a story about advocacy you feel could inspire others, use our new online form to tell us your story.

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.

RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.