Mar 26 2012

Get ready

Posted by: Kevin B. Gilnack, Campaign Manager

With all of the excitement about The Caring Force's rally next week, and the great questions we've been getting from attendees, I wanted to share some quick tips and tricks for making the most of your day at the State House -- or for getting involved virtually if you can't be there in person.

Check them out and leave a comment letting us know what you're doing to make the most of the day!

Rally attendees

Here are some quick steps you can make to be prepared for the rally, or to participate from home if you can't make it.

Make sure your legislators hear from you

  • Let your legislators know that you’ll be at the State House and try to schedule a meeting using our easy online form
  • If you're not sure you will be able to make an appointment in advance, find out who your elected officials are and where you can find them to drop off information while you're at the State House at www.wheredoivotema.com. Even if you don't think you'll have time to talk to someone, just receiving a letter from a constituent can can make a big impact.
  • Please come to the State House with a sheet of paper to remind you who your State Representative and State Senator are, and what room number you can find them in.
  • Whether this is your first time at the State House or your an advocacy veteran, these tips and tricks for having effective meetings during a lobby day will help you make the most of the day.

Come bearing signs: Creative, handmade signage is a great way to show you care about what we’re rallying for. I’ve included some suggested slogans below, but please feel free to use your own messages, too.

The Caring Force and the Providers' Council will award five free The Caring Force t-shirts to the agency that brings the most creative signs to the rally so do your best to get folks to bring their signs! Please note that per State House rules, your signs cannot have any wooden posts attached to them, so pull out some poster-board and magic markers to design them.

Spread the word!

  1. Please take a second to let others know about the rally in advance at http://www.thecaringforce.org/page/share/share-the-rally
  2. Help us have a strong social media presence during the event by
    1. taking pictures on your smart phone and tweeting them or posting them to Facebook
    2. tweet your impressions of the event or quotes from our speakers
    3. using the #mapoli hashtag so that our elected officials and the media see your tweets, and include @TheCaringForce so we can see your tweets and retweet them
    4. following and retweeting messages from @TheCaringForce

Can't make it to the rally?

  • Share this post with anyone who might be interested and use our share page to encourage folks to register.
  • Follow @TheCaringForce on Twitter and Like us on Facebook now, and help us spread the word from your desk during the rally by retweeting us and liking and sharing our posts.

Want to volunteer on-site? We may have opportunities for folks who are able to arrive by 9:30 a.m. to help direct people through the State House. If you’re interested, please let me know.

Organizations

Make sure the attendees coming from your organization are prepared and that you get the maximum impact for your investment of time and energy by following the tips below!

Make sure your attendees are as prepared as possible

Make sure our message is as visible as possible: compelling, creative, homemade signage can have an impact on legislators who attend the rally, as well as those who see pictures afterwards, and we'll be awarding five free t-shirts to the agency that brings the most creative signs! So please encourage attendees to make signs and feel free to use the suggested slogans below or anything you can think of that sends the message that we need fair funding for human service programs and salaries.

Earn easy press coverage: Any time your organization takes a group to the State House for a major rally and lobby day, it should be major news to your local paper. Download and customize our sample press release by following the included instructions to get coverage for your agency. For any assistance customizing your release, please email Bill Yelenak.

Suggested Slogans

  • Have a heart for Massachusetts’ human services
  • Dare to care about human services
  • Fair funding now!
  • Fair funding for human service programs & wages
  • [AGENCY] is proud to stand with The Caring Force!
  • Strengthen communities, strengthen human service funding!
  • Human services, human lives
  • Open hearts for caregivers
  • We are the heart of Massachusetts
  • Have a heart: support those who care
  • A rallying cry for caring