How To Win
We want to end poverty. Problem is, how do we do it? How do we – a bunch of passionate students – change the world?
The answer: Phone Calls. Don’t let that little dial tone discourage you either; it can be intimidating, I know, but you have to look beyond it. Your temporary discomfort WILL alleviate the discomfort of those living in extreme poverty worldwide. I think that’s a fair trade, don’t you?
Here’s how:
1. Find the bill that you want to support. You can check out the ONE.org Take Action page, ONE.org Issues page, check out your ONE emails, or any one of our poverty fighting partner’s webpage.
2. Find out if your members of Congress are already sponsoring the bill. You can find this on either the ONE Action pages for each bill (ex: the page of the Global Child Survival Act) or by looking the bill up in Thomas (rightfully named after Thomas Jefferson).
3. Call your member of Congress – U.S. Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121.
4. Ask for the staff member who would work on your bill. Talk to them about who you are (especially that you are a constituent) and why you care about the bill. You don’t have to be an expert, passion matters more than anything here.
5. Follow up. Send an email thanking the person for their time and call back a week later and find out if they have worked on it. You’ll find that a little persistence goes a LONG way.
I find that to be a pretty simple formula, and it’s worth 1,000 points per call (but you have to report them using the “create your own action” page). There are a hundred more ways to fight poverty and score points with the Campus Challenge as well, and hundreds more that aren’t even listed on the Campus Challenge page.
So how do you fight poverty? What have you done that works? What do you want to try?
Let me (and the rest of the world) know. We’re counting on you.
Huzzah!
Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University
January 17th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Really Effective tool: Tabling
At Brandeis, numerous groups have tables all over campus in highly trafficked areas asking people to make phone calls to congress, and it is really effective, requires low humanpower, and engages the community. If you set up a table (in a dining hall, in front of the library, in the student center, etc.), have information about why you want people to call and what the legislation is, and recruit people who are just walking by to take 5 minutes to make a phone call, you would be surprised at how many people want to help.
Some tips:
Don’t yell at people to make calls, but make your presence known. Explain to anyone who seems remotely interested why you are tabling, and how they can make a difference. Ask them politely to spend a few minutes making a difference. Don’t get frustrated when people don’t do anything, and still be positive and active with others who pass you by.
Know your stuff before hand. Know why this legislation would make a difference, know some basic facts about the effects of poverty around the world, and if you don’t know, recommend that people visit one.org. Even better, if your campus is wireless, have a laptop with you, so you can look up info, and more importantly, so you can help people to look up their congressperson. At the very least, you should have the names of the Senators and Representative of your school handy for people to ask for when they call the switchboard.
Have an e-mail list sign up sheets so that you can stay in touch with people who make calls or are interested, and you can send out action alerts around your own campus.
Most of all: Remember that calling makes a difference. Congress listens to its constituents. They tally all the calls and when they notice an issue is getting called about, they will take action.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Idea not yet tested at FIU: Calls to members of Congress Party
We know that sometimes it is difficult to start a conversation and there are still the concerns of us “regular guys” calling a very important office. We are trying to setup Calling parties that will have members seeing a phone call to congress goes without the pressure of doing it alone. We believe that future calls will be easier to make individually after the first of them is done with other people… if anybody has tried this arrangement before it will be great if we can hear from you.
January 17th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
What does Huzzah mean????
January 17th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
A word of celebration:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huzzah
January 17th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
How about doing some stuff in high schools and colleges? I’m left out!!
January 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Hi Mary,
We ARE in the Colleges and Universities! It’s what the Campus Challenge is all about; but part of the responsibility of the Universities/Colleges IS to involve their local (and not so local) high schools. Where do you go to school? I can find out who you can contact to become more involved. In the meanwhile, check out http://www.one.org/campus and find your school there!
January 20th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Mary,
You can still call congress members about causes your interested in. You are still their constintuent.
-Drew
I was also thinking about text messaging the cause to everyone. Maybe like those chain text messages, but without the “bad luck for 20 years” bit. If everyone texts 3 people about one.org and they forward it to another 3 and so on and so on we can reach thousands of people in a matter of hours!
Here’s an example text:
Help end world poverty. Join me and others at http://www.one.org. The solution is YOU.
Short and sweet while spreading awareness. Good luck fellow ONEers.