Legislative Update
Diabetes champions in the House plan to introduce SDP renewal legislation when they return from the August recess. They have drafted a 'Dear Colleague' letter inviting House members to sign onto the bill as original co-sponsors. We will include this letter as part of updated 'leave behind' materials for House meetings only, and JDRF advocates with meetings in August should request that members agree to be original co-sponsors of this legislation. The messaging, materials and request for Senate meetings will be the same - support for SDP broadly an co-sponsorship of Senate legislation when it is introduced later in the year.
Stay Connected!
We’re committed to keeping everyone up-to-date during the campaign, not only with numbers, but also with examples of the good work that everyone is doing. These regular updates will be provided through the Promise Campaign blog. Already, Hasan Shah (Grassroots Advocacy Manager) has posted a video welcome message and we’ve captured video from JDRF advocate Claire Nash talking with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-5) during their Promise meeting on August 1.
An easy way to stay on top of our blog updates is by following JDRF Advocacy on Facebook and Twitter. Each new blog post will generate a post to Facebook as well as a new tweet. Visit often and leave your comments. This will give us yet another way of staying in touch with you, getting your feedback, and answering your questions. Also, don’t forget to spread the word about the progress you’re making with Promise on Facebook and Twitter as well and encourage your family and friends to register to attend a meeting.
Meeting Tip
In addition to getting a picture with a legislator during your Promise visit, try to capture some video of the meeting. Whether it is your thoughts, the reaction of other advocates in attendance, and/or feedback from your congressman, we can display the video on our blog, as noted above. If you’d like to include the legislator that you’re meeting with, just ask the office in advance. We want to collect as much video of our success as we can to tell the story of the Campaign.
Keep up the great work everyone and contact us at advocacy@jdrf.org if you need additional information or want to get even more involved with the 2010 Promise Campaign.
Thanks!
Michelle Crouse, Promise Co-Chair, South Region
Camille Nash, Promise Co-Chair, Midwest Region
Melinda Rose, Promise Co-Chair, Northeast Region
Stefanie Sonico, Promise Co-Chair, West Region