How do we mere mortals rise to greatness? Does one person have the power to make enough noise to create change? What are the odds that an ordinary U.S. citizen can making a lasting impact on his/her community?
Great.
It began with a Facebook post
My post read, “This mom is mad. No parent should ever have to get a call about violence or the threat of it in their child’s school. Second Bomb threat in a month. This hate has got to stop!”
A message immediately came from another mom at my children’s preschool. She simply asked, “Is there something we can do? Start a group of parents?”
Yes, mobilize and flood ALL of our politicians from city council to Congress with calls, letters, and emails telling them they need to set an example, start neighborhood conversations and support anti-hate legislation.
That’s exactly what we did less than two weeks ago. Now, a group of four mothers is around 200 strong. Fathers, grandparents and friends have joined. We’ve pushed our elected leaders from our statehouse to our nation’s capital to take a stand and get involved. We’re gaining support from neighbors and local businesses. We’re helping to raise money to improve security at our children’s school. The state legislature is even expected to take action next week. Now, we’re working to take our cause national.
You can too.
Speak up
If you see injustice or a need for change, don’t be afraid to speak up. Find other people impacted by the same problem. Ask for their opinion. Ask them to also take a stand.
Organize a group
Create a Facebook group to let people learn more about your cause and developments. It’s a wonderful tool to create calls to action. Don’t be afraid to make the group private or closed. Those privacy settings allow you to decide who gets access to information. It’s vital in a situation like ours when you are dealing with protecting the identity of children amidst threats of violence.
Contact your elected leaders….. ALL of them
Start with the people who represent that area. If it’s a city issue, go to the city council person first then to the mayor and other council members in neighboring districts. State? Contact your state representative, your state senator, your attorney general AND your governor. Is this an issue under federal jurisdiction? Ours involved a hate crime crossing state lines, so we went to our mayor, county commissioner, state representative, attorney general, governor, congressman, a congresswomen in a neighboring district, U.S. Senators… this is an all hands on deck situation. Anyone AND everyone are fair game.
Call, Email, Write, Tweet
Today’s technology is an asset. It’s harder to ignore you when you are sending information across multiple platforms. Social media is a great tool to draw public attention to an issue. Make your issue harder to ignore by posting a specific call to action on Facebook. For example, “the governor’s office says he isn’t planning to make a statement. Call his office at (insert phone number) and let him know how important his support is to you.”
Ask questions… a lot of questions
Don’t understand how to lobby? Find a lobbyist. Confused about some legal language? Ask an attorney. We did. You will see more action if you are able to specifically tell an elected official what you want accomplished.
Finally, don’t forget your manners
A thank you can go a long way. If someone listens to you and takes action, take a moment to thank them. After our second bomb threat, our local police department stepped up police presence. I wanted to cry when I saw three officers outside the school and a mobile video surveillance system. They were working harder to protect my children, and I did cry. I cried when I called the police department and mayor’s office to say “thanks.” Their reaction? Shock. One officer told me, “everyone calls to complain. No one calls to say anything nice.”
Fight for change. Be a blessing in someone else’s life.
