Getting Exactly What You Want..for GAVI

Image from www.one.org

Can I have a pony? No.
Can I have an iPhone? No.
Can I have ice cream before dinner? No.
Can I have a billion dollars? Yes!

Let's face it. There aren't too many times when kids get exactly what they ask for - especially if it's a billion dollars. But that's what happened this morning! Today, the U.S. made a commitment of $1 BILLION dollars over four years for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to get immunizations to children in poverty who desperately need them. This is the pledge my girls and I have been writing letters and making lobby visits to members of Congress about. We joined tens of thousands of people tweeting, writing, publishing, and visiting to create a movement of demand for global vaccines. Our favorite advocacy organizations - RESULTS, Shot@Life, and ONE - were united in the request for the same amount of money to fight diseases like polio, measles, and rotovirus...so deadly and easy to prevent!

Mothers in Uganda bringing their infants to an
outdoor health clinic for vaccinations

This historic pledge to GAVI is the largest ever of its kind from the U.S. It is important because it showed our leadership and commitment to ending preventable child deaths in a generation. The $1 billion U.S. pledge combined with the total promised from all the other countries led to a whopping $7.359 billion that exceeded the goal of the GAVI pledging conference which took place in Germany this morning. According to Seth Berkely, CEO of GAVI, with this significant replenishment, GAVI can now commit to immunizing over 300 million additional children and prevent 7 million future deaths from 2016-2020.

I awoke this morning at 5AM unable to sleep...maybe I felt a rumbling in the "Force" coming from Berlin where the GAVI replenishment session was underway? I turned on my laptop and discovered the meeting was being live streamed. I watched as country after country stepped up with their promises. When it came time to get the kids up for school, I woke them with the news that this morning the U.S. was going to make the promise we asked for. "Is it happening now?" Yes, it is. "Can we watch it during breakfast?" You want to watch a pledging conference? Sure, why not?

On live web-cast, Canada promises $500M

Watching the live webcast with kids brought up some great observations and conclusions from them that were both insightful and funny to me. Here are the notes I took from our conversation:

• Qatar is a new donor to GAVI. It has no "u" in its name even though it seems like it should. It's located in the Middle East. Despite what we see on American TV news, some very, very good things come from the middle east.
• China made it's first ever pledge to GAVI. It used to be a recipient of GAVI money, now it gives back. It is possible to move out of poverty and contribute to others.
• Japan said nice words, but did not make a pledge. Sometimes grown-ups don't get their act together and get their homework done even when it's super-important. That's embarrassing.
• The UK is the biggest donor to GAVI. The U.S. is not always #1.
• Bill Gates pledged $1.5B Wow, Bill Gates is a famous person who is still alive! Some individuals are able to contribute more than some countries.
• Together, all the countries reached over the goal to a total of $7.539 billion. It takes everybody working together to solve a global problem.
• The U.S. pledged exactly what we asked for. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

What a way to start the day and head off to school! The girls walked out the door with a sense that they had personally accomplished something major in the world...and indeed they had. Congratulations to all who worked so hard on gathering this momentum and commitment from the world's government. I hope you're walking around with some of the swagger that we are today!

Celebration selfie before heading off to school!

Keeping the Motivation UP!

I had a tough run this week. 11 miles training for my RESULTS fundraising half-marathon run. The distance wasn't even what made it so hard. It was the fact that I had to get it done while my 9-yr-old was getting ready for school. It was broken up into chunks while I was multi-tasking. Here's what it looked like:

Starting back again at zero
miles is depressing after
running 6 already!

• 5 miles on the treadmill before anyone got up
• Wake daughter
• 2 miles outside while husband was still home
• Make sure kid's doing chores and eating breakfast. Goodbye to husband
• 4 more miles on the treadmill

5+2+4=11. Whew.

Two miles outside made kept up my spirts
for the 9 miles on the treadmill

It's incredibly hard to keep focus on an exhausting task when you are interrupted and doing other things at the same time. Inertia can sometimes be your friend since an object in motion tends to stay in motion. But it can be your enemy since an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Getting back onto that treadmill was the hardest thing I've done all month.

This is not unlike what happens when you play the long game in activism, working on an issue like global vaccines. We fight and lobby for immunizations for children to secure funding for the GAVI, the vaccine alliance and fight diseases like polio, measles, and rotovirus. Sometimes we have big wins, but sometimes there are long distracting pauses in the legislative process during which life happens. Congress is in recess. Kids soccer games, choir performances, and scouting activities happen. School happens. We forget about what we were doing and when appropriations season (the time when Congress decides how much money to give in a year) or pledging time (the time when the President decides how much the U.S. should be giving) comes around, we have to fire up our engines all over again. But I do. Because this is important. Way more important than my run this morning.

It's so easy to think that we can let the issue go because vaccines are kind of a no-brainer in the fight for global health. They are a "best buy" when you think about the value of a low-cost vaccine that buys a child lifelong protection from disease. How do you even put a value on the precious life of a child? And the value on the dignity of a mother who was protected by immunizations as an infant so she can work to provide for her own kids free of illness?...priceless. With all the benefits to saving lifes and bolstering of world economy, you'd think that it would be automatic for Congress to pass adequate funding.

But it's not automatic. 

It's a fight. Every. Time.

One of my Twitter followers saw my updates urging people to tweet the White House to ask the administration to pledge $1 Billion over the next 4 years for GAVI. He did take the action, but said something insightful. He stands up for issues that are little known or publicized, like human trafficking - which is very admirable and I strive to do the same - but tweeted that he expects our elected officials to take care of those widely known issues without his input. 

I'm glad he voiced this. I understand that viewpoint and it's true that it's hard to stand up for all things all the time. Sadly, though, it's just not true that lawmakers do the moral and smart thing even if the benefits are well-known. I've been on the losing side of advocacy battles, too, when child health programs have been slashed on the state or federal level. 

This is why it's important to keep up the momentum and remember to strap on your shoes and get back in the race at those key moments for global vaccines...like this moment. Right now!

We are on the cusp of the pledging event where all the world's nations will send representation to Berlin to publicly say how much they will pledge to the GAVI Alliance. We want the U.S. to step up and pledge $1 billion over 4 years to the GAVI Alliance, which will have the effect of saving 6 million kids' lives.   

Will you join me in getting back in the game?

Three EASY ways you can join the fight for children's lives:

1. Sign this petition from the ONE Campaign to the White House.
2. Tweet the White House with this message: "Friends, PLEASE Retweet: @WhiteHouse save over 6M kids' lives by pledging $1B over 4 yrs to @GAVI #AYAAction #VaccinesWork"
3. Call the White House by dialing 1-888-213-2881, which will connect you directly to the White House comment line. When the operator comes on the line, tell them: “I am asking President Obama to help save 6 million children’s lives by pledging 1 billion dollars over the next four years to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Thank you.” (If you're worried about this one, go see my past blog about how easy calling in really is.)

I hope you will join me in taking one or all of these actions. Even taking all of them would take less than 20 min, but have enormous impact on our planet while costing you no money...except for your taxes and you have every right to weigh in on what they are spent on. Help us keep up the motivation!

Advocacy Made Easy: The Town Hall Meeting

Cynthia at a U.S. Senate podium pretending to give a speech.
Photo Credit: Cynthia Changyit Levin

What comes to mind when you think of the words "Town Hall Meeting"? I think of the Town Council scene in the movie "Footloose." I also think of Patton Oswaldt's 100% Improvised Star Wars filibuster on NBC's "Parks and Recreation." (Wait...I have to watch that again...OMG...hilarious genius...) Believe it or not, there is some semblance to reality in those fictional scenes of democracy in that citizens are addressing elected officials in a public forum. Let me answer some questions about what town hall meetings are and offer tips on how you can add them to your advocacy toolbox.

What is a town hall meeting? It's an informal public meeting typically open to everyone and held at a public space like a library, municipal building, or school. "Town Hall" can also simply refer to a format where attendees generally get to voice their opinions and ask questions of elected officials, staff, or election candidates. They might have different names - like, "Kitchen Table Talk", "Constituent Breakfast", or "Listening Session" - but anywhere the public is invited as active participants instead of spectators is generally thought of as a town hall meeting.

When do they happen? Summer is when many U.S. representatives and senators hold them because they come home to the district from Washington D.C. during August recess. Some members of Congress hold weekly "town hall"-type meetings for visiting constituents in Washington D.C. Some have staffers do them throughout the year even in their absence to create another way for constituents to get information to them.

Do people really yell? It's definitely a possibility, but that depends on how many emotional citizens show up. Even then, it's usually not a cinematic mob scene. Yet these types of meetings are where programs like The Daily Show are able to dig up some gems because these meetings are where real, everyday citizens can hold their elected officials accountable for actions in DC. This is democracy at its raw-est (not necessarily finest) form.

Why should I advocate at a town hall meeting? Because you'll make yourself visible to your member of Congress and to your community. You'll build upon your public reputation. Plus, your member of Congress will be giving you an answer on the record in front of the public and possibly the media.

What is the format for taking questions? This varies. Sometimes questioners must line up at microphones. Sometimes a member of Congress will call on people who raise their hands. I was just at one where less than 20 people showed up, so the aide literally went down the rows, front to back, asking each person to state their issue in 2 minutes or less and allow time for the aide to respond to each and every participant. 

With those questions out of the way, here are some general tips of how to advocate at a town hall meeting. Remember, the format will vary, but these are suggestions that apply to most all town hall meetings. For more details, see this guide from www.RESULTS.org that will take you from the first steps of finding out where the meeting is to crafting your message and presenting at the meeting.

• Talk to someone who has attended one before - even an aide. Find out what the format will be and get tips from their experience with your particular member of Congress.

  

  U.S. Senators Durbin and Kirk of Illinois posing with
  Cynthia and her family. Photo Credit: Cynthia Changyit Levin

• Invite friends/allies who will also speak on your issues. With a big crowd, you may want to sit separately and try some crafty birddogging techniques. This is not my specialty, but essentially you have people in different areas in the room forcing the official to come back to a topic even if he/she is trying to evade the issue.
• Show up early. This is about logistics and relationship-building. We showed up early to an Illinois constituent breakfast in DC with our children and BOTH senators made a bee-line to talk to us as soon as they entered the room because they wanted to talk to the cute little girls!
  
  
• Sit up front and wear a logo T-shirt of your org. You want to be noticed and remembered.
• Write down brief, clear remarks on your issue and end with a "yes or no" question. There's nothing wrong with reading from a paper, but be sure to end with asking them to take a clear action.

• 

  Image: A young girl wearing a ONE campaign t-shirt, raising her
  hand excitedly. Photo Credit: Cynthia Changyit Levin

  Raise your hand right away if that is the format for choosing questions. Be "first, fast, and high" and keep it up there! Think Hermoine Granger in Potions class (even though it didn't work out that well for her...that was Hogwarts, not Congress)
• Say something personal about yourself. Give some context for why you personally care about your issue, so other people can see themselves in your shoes. For instance, "I am a mother of young children who cares deeply about their health. When I found out that  1.5 million children - 1 every 20 seconds - die in developing countries because of lack of vaccines, I was horrified."
• Be brief and polite. No one wants to be there all day nor be insulted.
• Focus on story more than statistics. People are much more likely to remember a touching story rather than a bunch of numbers. For example, my colleague told a story he saw on a Gates Foundation video about a woman who personally vaccinated thousands of children and concluded powerfully saying, "She just needs our help to get the vaccines!" If press are present, they might ask you to repeat your story for their news outlet.
• Address the audience as much as you address the member of Congress. If possible, turn your body and have eye contact with some of the audience and the member of Congress as well. Town hall advocacy is public awareness as much as lobbying. You may find like-minded people in the audience who might want to join your group. Or, conversely, you might educate someone who thought they were opposed. 
• Use your loud, clear speaking voice. You want everyone to hear about your issue AND the name of your organization. Now is the time to be bold and be heard. Speak the truth...even if your voice shakes.
• Bring all your printed media and leave behinds. You might be permitted to give a packet to an aide.

Now, because this is a mom-blog, here's the million dollar question:

SHOULD I TAKE MY CHILDREN? Maybe. Ask yourself if your children can easily sit through a religious service without causing a disturbance. Then, think about the time of day, what the venue will be like, and if any controversial adult topics are likely to be shouted about. I did not take my kids to a standing-room-only, evening town hall with my U.S. Representative the year the controversial Affordable Health Care Act was passed and adults did NOT behave like adults.  If I'm pretty sure the town hall has a photo op for everyone, will only last 1 hour, and everyone will behave, I'll bring my kids. I also bribe them with lollipops, which are portable and keep their mouths quietly busy!

Good luck and please leave a comment about your experience if you go to one!

Cynthia smiling and waiting for a town hall meeting to
start. One child looks bored and the other is sticking her
tongue out at the camera.
Photo Credit: Cynthia Changyit Levin

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!