U.S. Poverty Weekly Update May 15, 2018

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | May 15, 2018

“Studies show that if families are low on food, the parents will go without so their children can eat. No one should have to make that choice.”

– RESULTS Salt Lake City volunteer Ashley Hoopes in an May 12 letter to the editor in Deseret News

Quick Media Action: Tell Congress to Protect SNAP by Rejecting House Farm Bill

Got Two Minutes? Farm Bill Vote on Thursday – Send that Letter to the Editor Now (May Action)

This is a big week for SNAP advocates. The House is planning to vote on H.R.2, their version of the Farm Bill, this Thursday. This bill would impose harsh new work requirements on SNAP recipients and restrict access to the program, causing 2 million people to lose all or part of their benefits. The good news is that as of yesterday morning, House leaders were still short the votes needed to pass it. That means your advocacy is working. But House leaders will be applying a lot of pressure on Republicans, and some rural Democrats, to vote “yes” on the bill over the next few days. Don’t let them succeed.

We’re trying to get as many letters published as we can before Thursday’s vote (RESULTS volunteers have gotten 10 letters published just in the last 4 days!). If you have that letter to the editor ready to go, now is the time to hit send. If you haven’t started yet, now is the time to do so. And if you’ve sent one in but it didn’t get published, now is the time to try again. Remind your members of Congress that a vote for this Farm Bill is a vote for more hunger in America.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to submit a letter to the editor (LTE) to your local paper telling your members of Congress to oppose cuts to SNAP in any new Farm Bill. The May Action has information to help you draft a powerful letter, or you can use our online template (note: there are different versions of the message in this alert so if you’ve sent one already, hit refresh for the next one). Let’s make sure they don’t drag this bad bill across the finish line. If you need assistance with your media pieces, please contact Jos Linn.

If you’d like to get the most up-to-date info on the House Farm Bill vote, join Bread for the World’s monthly national advocates call today, May 15 at 4:00pm ET. You can sign up here.

Got Ten Minutes? Register for the RESULTS Conference – Early Bird Registration Expires Tonight!

The RESULTS International Conference is fast approaching – 60 days and counting. Are you registered? If not, today is the day to do it. At 11:59pm tonight, our Early Bird registration discount will expire. That’s an extra $50 you’ll pay starting tomorrow. Granted, our Conference registration is still one of the most affordable ones you’ll ever see for a DC conference, but if you can save even more, why not do it? Register today!

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to go to www.resultsconference.org/register and register for the 2018 RESULTS International Conference TODAY. Save $50 off your registration before it expires tonight.

Need additional help? If you are an active RESULTS U.S. Poverty volunteer and want to come to the Conference but need help with the cost, please fill out our RESULTS U.S. Poverty Scholarship application.

Got Twenty Minutes? Tell Everyone You Know to Call Representatives to Vote NO on the Farm Bill

As mentioned above, House leaders are planning a Thursday vote on their new Farm Bill, H.R. 2. This is a harmful piece of legislation that will deny food to American families across the country, place additional stress on people already stressed about finding work, and needlessly increase hunger in America. In the effort to finance reckless tax cuts for the wealthy, they are taking aim at SNAP recipients who are just trying to feed themselves and their families. Just like with their attempts to gut Medicaid last year, lawmakers in Washington need to know that Americans from all places and all background will not tolerate this continued assault on people experiencing poverty in the U.S.

Last week, we asked you to call your representatives urging them to vote NO on the House Farm Bill. We want you to do that again. Lawmakers need to hear from you again and again to get the message that SNAP works. In addition, we need your help in generating as many calls as possible, from you and people you know. The more Washington offices hear from constituents, the harder it will be for them to pass this harmful bill. Please do your part today.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to call you representative’s office to again tell them to vote NO on the House Farm Bill. Use our online action to make your call today. Click on the phone icon in the middle of the alert, fill in your contact information, choose your representative, and it will take you to a page with the phone number and script to say when you call. You can supplement your call by sending an e-mail, Tweet, or Facebook message to your members of Congress in the same alert.

Once you have finished calling, send the following note to your action networks in an e-mail or on social media urging them to call as well.

The House is planning to vote on a new Farm Bill THIS WEEK that would take food away from 2 million Americans struggling to find work by cutting SNAP (food stamps). You can help stop this assault on workers and their families by calling your representative and telling him/her to vote NO on H.R. 2, the House Farm Bill. Click on the phone icon in this alert to make your call TODAY. Stand up for hungry families by standing up for SNAP!

Join our Next Anti-Oppression Webinar Tonight at 9pm ET

In our continuing work to address issues of oppression, RESULTS is hosting our next Anti-Oppression webinar tonight, May 15 at 9:00pm ET. On this webinar, you will get to do a "cultural sketch" of yourself to better understand how your identity influence your values, decisions, behaviors, and opportunities. Attendees will also get the chance to share their thoughts of what they learned from the exercise. Sara Buckingham (Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology, RESULTS Regional Coordinator, and member of the RESULTS Anchorage group) and Jos Linn, Grassroots Manager for U.S. Poverty Campaigns, will lead the call. It should be an interesting and informative discussion. You don’t need to do anything to prepare. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/33986526 or dial (201) 479-4595 Meeting ID: 33986526#.

Quick News

Submit Your Memorial Day Recess Meeting Requests. Congress will again be on recess the week of Memorial Day, starting Monday, May 28. If you have not had a face-to-face meeting recently, ask for one during this recess. It’s a great way to deliver your #LetterGetLOUD letters and new media you get published this month. Use our online template to submit your request today.

Raising Funds to Support RESULTS' Advocacy for Moms. The RESULTS Spring Friends and Family Fundraising Campaign is going on now! Join the fun and help us reach the $5,000 match. Check out the campaign online. Questions? Mea Geizhals, Grassroots Fundraising Manager, is ready to help. 

Hunger Fellows Present on Hunger and Race in America. This past weekend, Emerson Hunger Fellows Funke Aderonmu and Erica McCoy (Alliance to End Hunger) presented at the AmeriCorps VISTA Uniting Our Resources Conference in Chevy Chase, MD. The Fellows presented to a room of about 20 VISTAs on the intersections of Hunger and Race in America. If you’d like to read or use their presentation, you can download it from the RESULTS website. 

New Tool to Help Understand the Racial Wealth Divide. Bread for the World Institute recently released a new tool to help communities across the country understand the historical roots of the racial wealth divide in America. The Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation is a support tool for those who want a deeper understanding of structural inequality, and a source of information on the quantifiable economic impact of each policy that has widened today’s racial hunger, income, and wealth divides. 

Poor People’s Campaign Kicks Off. The Poor People’s Campaign, “A National Call for Moral Revival uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality”, kicks off this week with events around the country. Many RESULTS volunteers are participating in these events. To find one near you, visit their 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: Kristy Martino, last day at RESULTS, May 25.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, May 15 at 1:00pm and 8:00 pm ET. Login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Anti-Oppression Training Webinar, Tuesday, May 15 at 9:00p m ET. We will do "cultural sketches" understand how our identities influence our values, decisions, behaviors, and opportunities. Login at http://fuze.me/33986526 or dial (201) 479-4595 Meeting ID: 33986526#.

Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. All RESULTS offices closed.

House and Senate Recess, May 28-June 1. Submit your meeting request today. After any lobby meeting or town hall, please complete the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, June 5 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

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.

Please Fill Out the Lobby Report Form. After any lobby meeting, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went. When you have a meeting where both U.S. and global poverty issues are discussed, please fill it out twice.