field trips
Field trips are THE most empowering activity (aside from learning to surf at 50), ESPECIALLY with children and a coalition of other groups.
1. Meet with friends, children, colleagues and community leaders to plan a visit to one or more of your Members of Congress (MOC) or head honcho (HH) of a corporation. Choose 1-5 issues to discuss. Do your research. Brainstorm a list of local organizations working on your issue and invite them to join you. (Click here to download the "Mother Agenda".)
2. With a core group of 3-5 people you can divvy up assignments:
• meeting requests
• inviting/guest list
• transportation arrangements (renting a school bus is a fun option)
• snacks and lunch
• media
• follow-up
3. Go to your Representative’s and Senators’ Websites to find out phone numbers and where their offices are located, www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, or GOOGLE the company you want to visit. Check out recent press releases while you're there to see what your MOC or HH has been saying about your particular issues.
4. Call the office and ask to speak with her/his “scheduler” or administrative assistant. Introduce yourself to her/him and say you’d like to schedule a 30 to 45-minute meeting. For MOCs you might be asked to submit a written request. Be sure to state the purpose of your meeting. You will most likely meet with a legislative staff person, but that's okay because they do a lot of the work.
5. Sign-up your event on the MAU website and invite your community to join you with an email to your friends, a letter to the editor and/or a calendar announcement in your local papers. Designate a contact person for questions.
6. Email a proposed agenda to everyone who plans to attend the meeting including the legislative staff person. Send the agenda days ahead of your scheduled meeting date so everyone has a chance to review and comment.
7. Make posters with stats, pie charts and graphs to support your agenda items; makes the meeting visually interesting and gives the smallest members of the delegation something to do (hold the poster).
8. BE SURE to bring along your favorite local reporter (newspaper, radio, or TV) so they can get the story first hand. Children and their parents meeting with MOCs is news! Be sure to give the media an outline of your agenda ahead of time. ALSO, be your own reporter. Designate a photographer, videographer and a scribe to recap the story of your visit.
9. Meet 1 hour before the meeting to assign speaking parts (this could be done in advance of the BIG DAY), read the MAU Principles and to let the children and adults practice their questions out loud. Choose one person to lead the meeting and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak—especially the kids. Remember, it's not about being right; it's about hearing each other. Most importantly: be respectful. Be sure to leave time in the meeting schedule for questions. Your kids will come up with the most powerful and succinct questions. Here are some sample general questions:
• How are you prioritizing children’s well-being in the federal budget?
• What specific program(s) do/would you promote that benefit children? How much money is spent on the program(s)?
• What do you feel is the single most pressing need for children in our state (country, world) today?
10. At the meeting, start with introductions: name, a brief statement of who you are. Let the MOC, HH or aide know you would like to make a short presentation with time after for children and parents to ask questions. Determine how much time you have for the meeting. Always start the meeting with a thank you for a specific action the MOC or HH has taken. Be sure to end the meeting by thanking your host for meeting with you!
11. Send an individual or a big group thank you with pictures and diary entries of how the day went for the children and their parents. Attach the written request one more time. Keep a list of everyone’s email so you can organize another meeting down the road. Persistence is key!
RECIPE VARIATION (Thanks to the Nashville Mamas):
Do a weekly drop-off of a plate of cookies with the Mother Agenda to the offices of your Members of Congress. Have mothers and other community leaders sign-up to deliver for one week each and make sure to bring the children.
