---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 08:48:30 -0700
From: David Mozer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: wa-afr <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: ACTION: Visit District offices for debt cancellation
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2000 2:54 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ACTION: Visit District offices for debt cancellation
ADNA Action: 000816
Message from: Church World Service
For contact information see also:
http://www.africapolicy.org/adna
Dear ADNA members,
Followoing find the action notice from CWS for Jubilee 2000 USA
regarding August visits with Members of Congress in their home
district offices. These are being scheduled to keep up the pressure
for greater debt cancellation while they are home campaigning
during the Washington Summer Recess. Feel free to share this with
your networks.
Use the contact information in the message below, not APIC or
ADNA to followup on this message.
Regards,
Vicki Ferguson
ADNA Communications Facilitator
Jubilee 2000's Turn up the Heat Campaign
==> Support the AUGUST ACTION!
Find out who is coordinating visits in your state or district -
Congress is starting to show support for financing for debt relief
programs! But, its work is not over. Now, help us TURN UP THE
HEAT for Jubilee 2000 by volunteering be part of -- or to lead -- a
small group of local supporters to visit members of Congress in
home districts during the August recess! The meeting would be in
your area or possibly in a nearby city or town (depending on where
the closest office is of your Representative and Senators).
The goal: a visit in August in each Congressional district across the
US!
Calling all volunteers!! Qualifications:
-- Good communicator with passion for justice
-- Ready to urge Congress to keep up the promising momentum and
fully support debt cancellation
-- NOTE: You don't need to be an expert ==> PhD in economics
**NOT** required.
Jubilee 2000 will provide you with Talking Points and helpful tips
(see below).
To sign up, send an email to [log in to unmask] or call 202-783-
0214
If you live in the Northeast email [log in to unmask] or call
617-746-2103
If you live in mountain states like CO, WY, MT, UT, ID please email
[log in to unmask] or call Mara at 303-623-3464
Be sure to indicate your full contact info (including your street
address, with the 9 digit zip code if possible). Plus, tell us whether
you belong to any groups such as a religious organization,
community or campus group, etc. Let us know whether you'd like to
lead a group visit (and receive a few calls and emails from people
wanting to join your group visit) or just be a member of one.
Name:
Organization:
Address: Zip: (all nine digits if possible)
Phone: Fax:
Best time to call:
Email:
I'd like to lead the visit (put an X here==> _________)
I'd rather be a part of a group someone else organizes (put an X
here ==> ________)
Turn Up the Heat for Jubilee 2000
Hot Tips on Meeting With Your Member of Congress!
Every study of congressional influence shows that one of the most
powerful tools to reach a member of Congress is an in-person
meeting with constituents. Hand-written letters, phone calls, and
media placements are all important ways to influence Congress, but
nothing beats a face-to-face visit.
Setting up a delegation
_ Your delegation does not need to be large. A few people who
reflect the diverse constituency of your congressional district and
who care and are informed about Jubilee could be a very effective
group.
_ As much as possible, try to bring together a delegation with a
good balance of gender, race, age, denominations, income,
professions, and geographical location. This shows the
congressperson that Jubilee is not a special interest but has broad
support.
_ Be creative about whom to invite. Jubilee 2000/USA has been
endorsed by most major Protestant denominations, many Catholic
religious orders and organizations, the American Federation of
Jewish Congregations and many secular and religious groups such
as Oxfam, Bread for the World, or 50 Years is Enough (check the
Jubilee website for a full list at www.j2000usa.org). There are
churches, religious communities, and individual members of these
groups in your congressional district who would probably love to
accompany you on your visit. You may want to be in touch with the
Jubilee 2000 office to see if there are other people from your
congressional district on the J2000 mailing list. Contact them at 202-
783-3566.
_ There may be people in your community with a story to tell B
someone from a country deeply effected by debt or someone who
has lived in such a country (a returned Peace Corps volunteer or
missionary, for example). Their first hand views can help to
communicate the human side of this issue for the member of
Congress.
_ Not everyone needs to be an expert on this issue, but they do
need to be willing to be as informed as possible, bring their sincere
concern for people in countries suffering under unjust and
unpayable debts, and a spirit of cooperation for the group. People
who are overtly antagonistic or domineering will probably do more
harm than good in the group.
Getting an appointment with your representative
_ Find your representative's phone number in the business or
government pages of your local telephone book. Call and ask to
speak with the scheduler. You may say something like, "Hello, my
name is _____. I live in ________ and I'm calling to set up an
appointment with Rep. ______ for a small group in the
representative's district to talk about the need for debt cancellation
for the world's most impoverished nations."
_ The scheduler will ask you about available dates and the number
of people you expect to bring. He/she may ask you to send your
request via fax or email.
_ Make it very clear to the scheduler that you want to meet directly
with your representative and not with an office staff person.
Congress is on recess during August, so it is a perfect month to
schedule a visit.
_ You may need to follow up your request by calling the scheduler
every few days until you get an appointment. Congressional offices
are very busy places, so be politely persistent. Do be as flexible as
possible, though, to try to find a meeting time and place that will
allow the meeting to happen.
_ Phone or email the Jubilee office at 202-783-3566 to let us know
when your meeting will take place.
Preparing for your visit
_ Familiarize yourself with the need for debt cancellation. View the
Jubilee 20000 video (Cancel the Debt Now), read through the
education packet, and scan the information on the website,
www.j2000usa.org. Included in this Turning Up the Heat packet is a
sheet explaining the general actions toward debt cancellation this
Congress has taken and the specific request you will be talking
about on your visit.
_ Bring your delegation together about a week in advance of the
meeting with your congressperson, if possible. Go over some of the
educational materials together and make sure everyone has a copy
of the congressional action sheet.
_ In your planning meeting, think about your member of Congress.
Do any of you know him/her personally? What has been their voting
record on debt? Do you know if your member has ever traveled to a
developing country? Are they a teacher or health care professional
before they entered Congress (may help to draw a connection to
these fields deeply effected by debt)? What are some of things that
motivate this member?
_ Think through how you will handle the visit itself and who will take
the lead on the different sections of your visit.
_ Do a practice visit. Nothing will help you more than actually saying
things as if you were in the meeting. Try to anticipate the types of
questions you might get. Have one person sit out and critique the
group after the roll play is done. Redo the roll play with everyone
involved.
Visiting your member of Congress
_ If possible, meet your delegation for coffee about an hour or so
before the visit to do a final briefing and confirm who is doing what.
_ At the meeting, you or someone in your group should be the
general facilitator. Make sure everyone introduces themselves with
their name and where they live. The facilitator should be prepared to
make a brief opening comment. The visit is likely to last between 10
and 30 minutes, so it's important that you make your main points
early.
_ Have a concrete objective in mind. Though you want to share
information with your representative, make it clear what you actually
want him/her to do. For this meeting, ask your representative to act
in the ways specified on the information sheet. State your objective
up front, but also ask him/her directly at the end of the meeting if
they will take this action.
_ If your representative has taken a positive action on debt in the
past, thank him/her for that.
_ Talk to the representative about the need for debt cancellation give
examples and statistics, if possible, to illustrate the reality and the
breadth of the need.
_ If you are asked a question by the representative that you do not
know, offer to find out, and get back to him/her with the answer.
_ Leave the information sheet with you representative.
_ Thank him/her for their time with you
_ If possible, debrief with your delegation afterwards to talk over the
visit.
_ Write a letter to the representative on behalf of the delegation,
thanking the member for his/her time, recapping the points you
covered in the meeting, and any commitments made.
_ As soon as possible after your visit, send a copy of your follow-up
letter along with your lobbying report form to the Jubilee office at
222 E. Capitol St., NE, Washington, DC, 20003. This will give
invaluable information to the Jubilee staff and Steering Committee as
the final days of this Congress unfold.
Jubilee 2000/USA _ 222 East Capitol Street, NE _ Washington, DC,
20003 _Phone: 202-783-3566, Fax: 202-546-4468
[log in to unmask] - www.j2000usa.org
***
This message is distributed from Church World Service for the
Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA).
Vicki Lynn Ferguson
Advocacy Network for Africa
Communications Facilitator
c/o Africa Policy Information Center
110 Maryland Ave, NE #509
Washington, DC 20002
Ph: 202-546-7961
Fax: 202-546-1545
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.africapolicy.org/adna
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