Tuesday, August 19, 2014

CRPD: 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Promote Ratification

September 8th, when the Senate reconvenes, will be here before we know it. The question on our minds is, what do we do in the meantime? Here are a few suggestions:

1.  Create a mini call center with your friends and make calls to within-state offices of your Senators of BOTH PARTIES urging support for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Senate comes back to Washington, D.C. in September. Then the Senate will be in session for three weeks and after that Senators will go back home, at least until after the fall elections on November 4th.

2.  Write an op ed for your local paper, by yourself or with friends, telling everyone that ratification is a good thing. My book, A Moral Imperative: U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is a good resource on deciding what to say. Here's the link -- http://t.co/Vigyant7aM.

3.  Make a resource folder. Include a list of links to useful resources, such as www.disabilitytreaty.org or www.Facebook.com/RatifyCRPD; Senators' telephone numbers, office addresses, calendar of events where they will be in attendance, Facebook, Twitter, and website addresses and staff names and roles; fact sheets; press clips and links to online media and social networks. Make a few copies of your folder and share with friends.

4.   Use social networks with your friends to create mini campaigns to get out messages to inspire others to get involved in the CRPD ratification campaign. My Twitter account (@AuntPip) has over 1,000, 140 character messages that will give you ideas.

5.  Start an action diary or log and keep track of what you do and when.

Efforts like these will lay the ground work for our final push in September and be the catalyst for real momentum nationwide.

Thank you.
Common Grounder