Advocacy templates

 When I was a young woman trying to figure out how to be an effective advocate, I discovered political organizations in the state capitol that specifically advocated for children. I didn’t live in the state capitol, so I couldn’t work or volunteer for these organizations, but they did offer their own letters to congressmen, which you could use as a template. A great example from Texans Care in Austin is found here 

I’ve also recently discovered many advocacy templates online for various projects. I found the best ones come from the Harken Institute. 

Scheduling a meeting with a USA legislator. 

I was involved with Texans Care in Austin for a couple of years. I never “met with a legislator” on my own, but I did go with Texans Care on what they called “Child Advocacy Day” at the time. (There is no official holiday called Child Advocacy Day. It’s different in every state, every year.). We went from office to office at the capitol building giving our pitch. I don’t even remember what the issue was! I just remember being there. Each office at the capitol was a representative from each area of Texas. We didn’t actually get to meet any actual representatives, just their personal assistants. I think this was in 2005 or 2006

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