It’s amazing what a little prep work can do and this certainly holds true with JDRF advocates in Connecticut and their meeting with Representative Jim Himes (D-CT-4)! Late last month, Carl Zuckerberg, the Promise Campaign Coordinator and Government Relations volunteer for the Fairfield County Chapter was able to gather 102 advocates to create a meeting that had an impact on Rep. Himes.
On a recent call with Carl, I asked him to share his thoughts on how he went about coordinating this meeting. Carl said the he started cultivating his relationship with Rep. Himes’ office immediately after the November 2008 election during JDRF’s New Member Outreach Initiative (NMOI). Although Carl didn’t get an opportunity to meet with Rep. Himes during NMOI, he did keep in touch with the office and continued to remind them that there were still JDRF advocates waiting to meet their new Member of Congress (another example of persistence that is so common amongst those of us impacted by type 1 diabetes!). While Carl kept in touch with the office, he also updated JDRF advocates via email on his progress. These short but consistent communications did two things for Carl: First, it kept Carl’s meeting request on the office radar, all the while developing a relationship with staff members. Second, keeping his advocates updated on his scheduling progress allowed everyone to feel part of the process. Due to the relationship Carl developed with his advocates through his updates, it encouraged the largest number of Promise meeting attendees for this year’s campaign!
It gets even better! This being Rep. Himes’ first experience with JDRF volunteer advocates, he walked away feeling like he had truly learned something worthwhile. In an effort to make sure that district 4 advocates were prepared for the meeting and that it was an engaging event for all, Carl sent around a list of questions to the advocates that he had also provided to Rep. Himes so he could learn about type 1 diabetes. So every time Rep. Himes asked a question, 25 hands would go up to answer the questions because all the advocates had had time to think about their answers. This engaging meeting gave Carl the opportunity to help Rep. Himes understand the importance of research funding for type 1 diabetes and how it can help get to a cure faster. As the meeting concluded, Rep. Himes told Carl that the meeting was an ‘extremely impressive’ experience. This comment highlights not only the dedication of JDRF advocates but also the impact the Promise Campaign is having. To read more about what Rep. Himes had to say about the meeting and the JDRF advocates click the following link: http://bit.ly/PromiseCT4.
JDRF Advocacy thanks Rep. Himes for his time for this Promise meeting, but most of all we thank JDRF advocates for helping explain the importance of our search for a cure and Carl’s effort in helping coordinate such a valuable meeting!