U.S. Poverty Weekly Update March 6, 2018

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | March 6, 2018

“President Trump's new budget is a retread of bad ideas and misguided priorities that most of America strongly opposes.”

– RESULTS Seattle volunteer Zelda Foxall in a February 22 letter to the editor in Kitsap Sun

Quick Action: Call Congress Today and Tell Them to Protect Food Assistance and Health Care

Got Two Minutes? Confirm Your Plans for Tonight’s National Webinar with Greg Kaufmann of TalkPoverty.org

Join us tonight for the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National at 8:00pm ET. On this month’s webinar, we’ll spend time talking about how best to message our efforts at protecting anti-poverty programs from cuts and changes. We are pleased to have Greg Kaufmann of the Center for American Progress and Talkpoverty.org (and formerly of The Nation magazine) to share his messaging insights that you can use in upcoming lobby meetings and #LettersGetLOUD events. And speaking of #LettersGetLOUD, we want to know what’s working and what we can help you do better. Please have ready your success stories or questions about #LettersGetLOUD for an Open Shares section on the webinar. We look forward to talking to you!

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to confirm details to participate in the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Grassroots Webinar call this evening, March 6 at 8:00 pm ET. Coordinate with your group where you will meet for the webinar. If your group is not meeting together for it, urge your group members to join on their own. To join the webinar online, login at http://fuze.me/32255914 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Plan to log in or call in no later than 7:55 pm ET.

Tonight’s webinar slides are now available on our National Webinars page.

Got Ten Minutes? Support REAL Changers on Capitol Hill – Call Congress Now to Protect Anti-Poverty Programs!

This morning RESULTS REAL Change Fellows from across the country are on Capitol Hill lobbying members of Congress to protect anti-poverty programs from devastating threats. We’ve seen unprecedented attacks on anti-poverty programs in the past year, and unfortunately those threats continue to this day. Some lawmakers are considering a plan to take away food assistance and health care from low-income Americans struggling to find work. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing for steep cuts to both Medicaid and SNAP (formerly food stamps).

As part of the REAL Change Fellowship at RESULTS, our young leaders are on Capitol Hill right now asking members of Congress to stand up against these devastating proposals. You can support them with a phone call to Congress today!

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to call your members of Congress urging them to oppose cuts or changes to SNAP and Medicaid that would take food and health care away from low-income families. It’s easy – use our online action alert (script included) to call them now.

Also, help us cultivate the next generation of anti-poverty advocates by urging young people you know to apply for the 2018-19 REAL Change Fellowship.

Got Twenty Minutes? Take #LettersGetLOUD to the Next Level for the March Recess (March Action)

Congress will be in Washington the next few weeks, plotting out strategies for their legislative agenda. Then, at the end of the month, lawmakers will be taking a two-week recess and available to meet with constituents. As RESULTS, we never want to let a recess go to waste, and this one especially so. Not only is this an important time to be talking to lawmakers about protecting SNAP and Medicaid from cuts, changes, and new restrictions, this is a great opportunity to remind them just how strong support for these programs is. Face-to-face meetings are a great way to deepen the engagement of new people you have or will reach out to during the #LettersGetLOUD campaign. Most people do not have experience doing these kinds of meetings so to see one first-hand is both informative and thrilling. Not only will you empower them, you will show lawmakers that a wide swath of their constituents want them fighting to protect basic assistance for low-income Americans.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to contact your House and Senate offices to schedule face-to-face lobby meetings with your members of Congress during the upcoming spring recess (March 26 – April 6). The March Action has tips for requesting meetings, how to make the most of your meetings by including others, and our updated Laser Talk about protecting SNAP. Use our online template to customize, print, and send your meeting requests today. When you get a meeting or town hall, please contact Meredith Dodson ASAP for coaching and materials and sit our U.S. Poverty Campaigns page for updated lobby requests to take to your meetings. Finally, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report form after any meeting to let us know how it went. We’ll talk about lobby meetings and issues to discuss in them on tonight’s U.S. Poverty National Webinar (see above).

Quick News

Use Our Budget Press Briefing for New Media. Thank you to everyone who has already generated media on U.S. poverty issues in 2018. You’ve had 32 media pieces published urging Congress to protect critical services for low-income Americans. If you are looking to generate media, especially editorials and op-eds, make sure to include our press statement about how damaging President Trump’s new budget would be to persons living in poverty. It is an excellent resource for editorial writers and useful for your own op-eds and letters to the editor.

Register for the 2018 RESULTS Conference. The 2018 RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC is only four months away. Witness the movement to end poverty in action as we learn, train, and advocate together in our nation’s capital. Go to www.resultsconference.org to register today. If you need help with travel costs, apply for scholarship assistance at www.tinyurl.com/RESULTSScholUS.

Invite New People to a RESULTS Intro Call. Invite people you meet through #LettersGetLOUD to learn more about RESULTS on one of our Introductory Calls. They can register for an upcoming call on the RESULTS website.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Upcoming U.S. Poverty staff time out of the office: Meredith Dodson, March 9-13. Jos Linn, March 21-25.

REAL Change Mid-Year Policy Summit, March 3-6. Washington, DC.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Tuesday, March 6 at 1:00 pm ET. To participate, call (712) 775-8972, passcode: 761262. Register here.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, March 6 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, March 20 at 1:00pm and 8:00pm ET. Login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Thursday, March 22 at 8:30 pm ET. To participate, call (712) 775-8972, passcode: 761262. Register here.

House and Senate Recess, March 26 – April 6. After any lobby meeting, please complete the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Wednesday, April 4 at 8:30 pm ET. To participate, call (712) 775-8972, passcode: 761262. Register here.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Friday, April 20 at 1:00 pm ET. To participate, call (712) 775-8972, passcode: 761262. Register here.

2018 RESULTS International Conference, July 14-17, 2018, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration is now open – register today. Watch our new 2018 Conference video and share it (along with our flyer) with others you know!

Other Resources

Get Your RESULTS Promo Materials. If you need banners, pens, stickers, or business cards for your local RESULTS work, fill out our Materials Order Form and we’ll send them to you.

Got a Question for the RESULTS Board? If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Steven McGee at [email protected]. View the most recently published Board minutes on the RESULTS website, as well as RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.