New Year's Letter Writing Party

Wondering how to bring in the New Year?
How about by asking for New Year's commitments from your representatives on issues that matter to you? Hold a letter writing party!

Why letters?
When you send a letter to government representatives, they count it as more than one voter's opinion, because so few people take the time to actually write letters, so your letter is having a bigger impact than you might expect! For instance your letter to the federal government might be counted as if as many as 50 people felt the way you do! That's pretty effective if you ask me!
Why New Years?
You and your family and friends probably have some time off school and work, are in a good and giving mood, and might even be sick of sitting around doing not much that active. Plus you can make your letters a bit more interesting by asking representatives to make a new year's resolution to make the change you're asking for, or talking about starting 2008 off on the right foot.

How? It's Simple:
1. Find a Place and Time
-part of your New Year's eve party? Something to do on New Years Day in the afternoon? Sometime in the few days before chool starts up again?
-your living room? Church? Community hall? All your really need is tables or clipboards/books for people to write on

2. Invite Friends and Family to start the New Year off right-send emails, invite people when wishing them a happy new year,-offer snacks (simple things like cookies and chips) and music (recorded, or ask a guitar player to play a few tunes)

3. Gather a few supplies
-Print off some fact sheets on a variety of issues you think are interesting and important - several ideas are available here(another page on the blog): http://continentalsac.blogspot.com/2007/12/fact-sheets-for-letter-writing.html
-Print off some tips on effective letter writing: http://www.sierraclub.org/takeaction/toolkit/letters.asp
-get a package of lined paper, some envelopes, a few pens, and some stamps (if you're concerned about how much you're spending on stamps and supplies, put out a basket for contributions toward postage at the party)
-Find out who your representatives (federal, state/provincial, and municipal) are and how to reach them, and print that off as well. Also consider the head of state of other countries as well, as many issues are international (particularly Canada/US).
- http://www.house.gov/writerep/ (US federal representatives)
- http://www.house.gov/house/orgs_pub_hse_ldr_www.shtml (US leadership offices)
- http://canada.gc.ca/directories-repertoires/direct-eng.html (Canada - Government and
Members of Parliament)
- http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/premiers/a/writepremiers.htm (Canada - Premiers of
the provinces and territories)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_Governors (list of US state Governors, can google their names to get addresses)

4. Follow-up-after the event send the information you collected (fact sheets, addresses for your representatives, and any tips you found) to everyone who did and did not attend, so people have the opportunity to do more, or to participate even if they couldn't make it to your party

Other tips:
Keep it Simple - have fun with it, but don't stress yourself out about it - go with the flow
Don't Stress - even if you don't have the turn out you would have liked, if you send one letter it was worth it! Plus, you'll have put the idea of letter writing in your friend's heads
Make it sound fun - consider watching a movie (either on the issue or just a fun movie) before or after, don't make it sound labour-intensive
Invite others to bring snacks, movies, music etc to take some of the load off yourself

Have fun!If you have any questions, send me an email - continentalsac@gmail.com

Add a comment to let me know if you held one of these parties, and let me know how it went! It's important to share our successes!

Fact Sheets for Letter Writing

Here are some fact sheets on a variety of topics/issues that you might consider writing letters on. Of course you can write a letter about any issue that matters to you, but the more facts you have, the stronger your letter will be.

These sheets are organized by topic/issue, and under the title of each fact sheet, the organization the information is from is listed in brackets.


Housing

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT PUBLIC HOUSING IN NEW ORLEANS
(Defend New Orleans Public Housing)
http://www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org/facts.html

Human Rights

Amnesty International’s page of Urgent Appeals (each one has fact sheet)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/how-you-can-help


Support Immigrant Families—Stop the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Raids (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)

Stop U.S. Sponsored Torture—A Religious Call to Action (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)

Women's Rights and Equality

Several actions to put equality back on track in Canada
http://www.womensequality.ca/action.html

Social Support for the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)

Poverty

Sample Letters about living up to Aid Committments - one for each country
(Poverty.com, same people that run Freerice.com)
http://www.poverty.com/printletter.html

More and Better Aid
(Make Poverty History Canada)
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/aim3.html
more detail:
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/resources/political-action/general-briefing-note.pdf


End Child Poverty in Canada
(Make Poverty History Canada)
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/aim4.html
more detail:
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/resources/political-action/briefing-note-child-poverty.pdf

Cancel the Debt - How rich countries need to cancel the debt owing to them by poor countries(Make Poverty History Canada)
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/aim2.html

Trade Justice - The importance of fair trade rules between rich and poor countries
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/aim1.html


Climate Change

General Climate Change Facts (glossary)
(The Great Warming)
http://www.thegreatwarming.com/pdf/ClimateChangeFactSheet.pdf

Climate Change and Poverty
(Make Poverty History Australia)
http://www.childfund.org.au/static/w/X/40498e0830b4d8d41b9724fe899c87a3.pdf


Wildlife/Wilderness

Stop Port Construction; Save Ridley Sea Turtles / India
(Global Response - Environmental Action and Education)
http://www.globalresponse.org/gra.php?i=current

Andy Russell – I’tai sah kòp (Castle) Park - Creating a new park in southwestern Alberta
(Sierra Club of Canada)
http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/biodiversity/wilderness/campaign.shtml?x=309

Boreal Forest Fact Sheet - info on the importance of and threat to the Canadian Boreal Forest
(Sierra Club of Canada)
http://www.sierraclub.ca/img_upload/af38c14d2c65b43c7910bb4fb3317aa7/boreal_fact_sheet.pdf

Democracy

This is Democracy? - Explanation of the need for electoral reform in Canada
(Fair Vote Canada)
http://www.fairvotecanada.org/files/Make%20Every%20Vote%20Count%20-%20Pt%201%20-%20jan%2005.pdf

Sexual Health/GBLTQ issues

-comprehensive sex ed in the States http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/socialjustice/statements/31604.shtml (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)

-Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)

-Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act with Transgender Inclusion and Protection (link to UUA's action of immediate witness on this issue)


Other topics to write letters on
(I don't have fact sheets for these, use your own knowledge and passion!)

-more and better transit systems in your community (a race, class, poverty and environmental issue)

-more comprehensive recycling and composting programs in your community

-real action on climate change from all levels of government
-clean energy sources (wind, solar, geo-thermal, wave technology, etc)
-emissions caps on industry, vehicles, etc
-more incentives for retrofitting of buildings to meet high energy standards
-stop subsidizing fossil fuel industries

-living wages – a minimum wage that is actually enough to survive on, and be above the poverty line

-racism (choose an instance of institutionalized racism and write about that, or check your town’s papers for particular instances you can refer to or write a letter to the editor about)

-representation of women and visible minorities in government positions (specifically that parties choose to nominate these individuals to run, and to run in ridings/constituencies where they are likely to win)



*Remember, you can also send email about any of these things, but letters count more!*

Also, some letters you can sign and send online - not as effective as hand-written and mailed letters, but still better than nothing! You could have a computer connected to the internet at your event so that people can send these letters too:

Americans - find out how your Senators and Reps voted on Key Energy Ammendments, and send them a note:
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/VoteCenter?page=voteList

Help save the Polar Bear
https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr012=ohd0zu5fh2.app20a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=221

Tell President Bush: Take Plan B to the UN
(Save Darfur)
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/planb_petition/ies6uus9a65d7ek?


Help Stop the Genocide in Darfur - Tell President Bush and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to take immediate steps to stop the killing in Darfur.
(Save Darfur)
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/savedarfurcoalition

Petitions Galore!

Here are some petitions on important issues you can sign. It's quick and easy and they work when lots of people sign them!

The Petition Site - tons of petitions on a variety of issues!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/

Here are some of the petitions on the Petition site that I've picked out and signed:

Stop Rape and Other Violence Against Women in War-torn Democratic Republic of Congo
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/681212377

End China's Human Rights Abuses in Tibet Before the 2008 Olympics
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/313171490

Support the PAW Act - End Alaska's Aerial Hunting Program!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/477616584

Stop Deceptive Labeling of "Natural" Meat
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/954533337

Give Darfur Kids Stability Through Education
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/677384362

Restore Affordable Birth Control
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/286534868


There are so many more petitions that are worthy of your signature, so check them out! Search for issues that matter to you! Or even write a petition yourself!

~Chris

Thinking about gifts for this holiday season? Don’t buy stuff, Change the world!

Especially fitting for the day after the biggest spending day all year, Nov 23 (also celebrated as Buy-Nothing Day) – today, think about making your next purchase something that will make a real difference, instead of more STUFF!

As these ads by Oxfam in the UK and New Zealand comically point out, every year most people both give and receive a whole lot of presents that are useless or not needed, usually generic, and just add to the STUFF we all have lying around. This year, use some or all of your gift-buying to change the world a little!

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/unwrapped/rubbishpresents_video2.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0XKE15yNnE

The sites below have great gift ideas that you can purchase through them that will really let you make a difference this year.
Note: These sites are from several different countries, but we live in a connected world, so if there’s something one another country’s site, you can probably still get it, shipping will just take longer for the card (unless you get an e-card) and you’ll need to consider the exchange rate for whatever you’re buying.

Oxfam Unwrapped Canada – http://www.oxfamunwrapped.ca/
Oxfam Unwrapped US - http://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/
Oxfam Unwrapped UK - http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/Browse.aspx?catalog=Unwrapped&category=UWGifts
-some of the fun gifts you can find on these sites include: male and female condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, a sanitary toilet for a community or school, safe water, chicken donkey or goat, hygiene kits, emergency kits, training or tools for women, peer education training on HIV/AIDS prevention

Good Gifts Catalogue (based in the UK) - http://www.goodgifts.org/
-check out their stocking stuffers for cheaper gifts that still make a difference
-wide range of useful gifts, sorted by interest for animal lovers and gardeners, music lovers, food lovers and book lovers

Ten Thousand Villages Living Gifts (Canada) - http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=living_gift
-plant trees, send children to school, or give livestock

Quick and Easy Ways to Fight Poverty

Poverty.com - a website that gives quick and easy to understand summaries of the major problems contributing to poverty. You can also download an print a letter to send to each (a differnt letter for each) of the countries that have not yet delivered on their 0.7% aid - including Canada! Send a letter today!

Free Rice - a website that helps you your English vocabulary, and for each word you get right, the sponsors donate 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger. It's extremely addictive and fun(i'm serious about this!), plus you know you're making a real difference.

The Hunger Site - this is a simple click-to-donate site, where sponsors donate cups of rice each time you click on the button on the main page. Only one click per day allowed, but there are several related sites such as the breastcancer site and the literacy site, and you can click on each site's button once a day.

Press Releases for Interfaith Fast for Peace

Hopefully some of you get this soon enough to be able to use them! good luck with your fasts!

Please feel free to change/add to these press releases, especially if you want to add a quote from yourself about why you're doing it, or your experience of it for the later ones. Or, if you'd like to talk to the media yourself, replace my name and number with yours.

To all Americans: sorry, as a Canadian i don't feel I know enough to write out a whole press release for the American fast... so you need to either quote yourself and/or your friends (and feel free to change any other parts of the press release!!!) in order to flesh it out (it's below the canadian version)


Canadian Press Release to be sent out Saturday, Sunday or Monday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Canadian Teenagers to Turn Down Food on Thanksgiving Day

Teens and young adults are known for their appetites, but a group of more than 10 Unitarian Universalist youth and young adults across Canada will be fasting for peace from dawn to dusk this Thanksgiving Monday instead of eating; and they’re encouraging their peers in other faith communities to do the same. Almost 500 youth and young adults across North America are planning to participate in the fast, as well as many adult faith communities.

“Peace and justice are really important to me as a Unitarian Universalist” said 20 year old Christine Michell from Lethbridge Alberta “so when I heard of this idea to fast for peace, I was really excited. I think the fact that it’s on Thanksgiving is quite fitting, since we’re so lucky as Canadians to live in peace.”

“We’ll still be having Thanksgiving dinner after sunset to break the fast, but the act of fasting for a specific purpose all day will help us to both reflect on the need for peace, and make a statement about how war and conflict need to end” added Sanford Kome-Pond, age 19 from Calgary.

This is all part of the Canadian Interfaith Fast for Peace, an extension of a similar event in the US which is sponsored by the Shalom Center, and focuses specifically on ending the war in Iraq.

For more information contact on youth and young adult involvement in this event contact Christine Michell (403) 382-0723, christine.michell@uleth.ca
For more information on the American event, see the website: http://interfaithfast.org

###

American Press Release to be set out Saturday, Sunday or Monday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American Teenagers to Turn Down Food this Columbus Day

Teens and young adults are known for their appetites, but a group of almost 500 youth and young adults across North America will be fasting for peace and an end to the War in Iraq, from dawn to dusk this Columbus Day; and they’re encouraging their peers in other faith communities to do the same. Many adult faith communities will be participating as well, many in large interfaith gatherings.

******insert 1-3 quotes from youth or young adults about the importance of this fast, why they’re doing it, and about their plans for October 8th*********

The Interfaith Fast for Peace is sponsored by the Shalom Center.

For more information on the larger event, see the website: http://interfaithfast.orgFor more information on youth and young adult involvement contact Christine Michell (403) 382 0723

###

Press releases to send out later (monday, tuesday, wed, thurs) - change all italic parts to apply to you and/or your group.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local youth/young adult spent Thanksgiving/Columbis Day fasting for peace

Teens and young adults are known for their appetites, but your name and and age here abstained from food on Thanksgiving/Columbus Day this year to make a statement about peace. Almost 500 youth and young adults across North America were planning to participate in the fast, as well as many adult faith communities.

****quotes here from you about what it was like, what it meant to you*******

This is all part of the Interfaith Fast for Peace, an extension of a similar event in the US which is sponsored by the Shalom Center, and focuses specifically on ending the war in Iraq.

For more information contact on youth and young adult involvement in this event contact your name/contact info
For more information on the American event, see the website: http://interfaithfast.org

###

hope these are helpful!
~Chris

Canadian Racism and AR/AO

I have been aware for some time now that nothing was really being done in the Canadian UU youth community to deal with racism and oppression. Some of this has to do with the fact that a lot of the material that has been developed in the UU youth community has been largely US-centric, coupled with the Canadian cultural tendency to believe that the US and Canada are SO different that our problems aren’t alike. I know Canadian UU youth care about racism and justice, but it really hasn’t been talked about, and there is even less diversity in our youth community than in the American youth community.

As both the National Social Action Coordinator for Canada(a position I held from 2004 until may 2007), and the Continental Social Action Coordinator, I have struggled with this reality, and have been trying to figure out how to bring effective and transformative AR/AO training and work to Canadian youth, without initiating the knee-jerk rejection reaction. This shift has to be done intentionally, and in a caring and strategic way, so that we do not end up turning all (or even a large portion of our extremely small community) Canadian youth away from this work as a result of bad experiences.

So far I’ve done the following:

-I’ve been a part of the CUC’s Racial and First Nations Equity Monitoring Group (Monitoring groups are volunteer committees that discuss, strategize around and take action on a particular social justice issue/area, these groups are mostly adults, though there are occasionally youth who are members), which has been adapting American AR curriculums, as well as other diversity curriculums made by Canadian UUs, to be used in Canadian congregations. These curriculums are available online here: http://www.cuc.ca/social_responsibility/diversity.htm

-I’ve tried to examine why so many Canadians have had bad reactions with American AR/AO trainings, so that we can address those issues – and I wrote an essay earlier this summer about this issue,( as well as a couple of other issues I have become aware of in the way YRUU does AR/AO) which can be found earlier in my blog.

-I’ve applied and been accepted to become a Groundwork trainer, and hope to help Groundwork in their efforts to become more continental and to produce Canadian-relevant content and materials.

Since the powerful and inspiring AR/AO trainings I experienced at Youth Council 2007, the group of Canadians who were present at Youth Council (YCRs, the Canadian At Large, a member of last year’s YRUU Steering Committee, one of the Groundwork Trainers, and myself) have committed to forming a strategy to bring exciting, relevant, transformative AR/AO training to Canadian youth. We are reviewing materials already available to us (such as groundwork materials, materials from the UN Association of Canada, and the curriculums developed by the CUC’s Racial and First Nations Equity monitoring group), creating our own programs and workshops, and forming a strategy that addresses youth at the congregational, regional and national levels.

I’m extremely excited about this process, and the possibilities it has for real change. This is clearly an area of weakness, and I’m really looking forward to addressing that weakness, and hopefully turning it into a strength instead. I hope that some of the materials we develop and/or discover will also be applicable to American youth, and can further strengthen the Continental AR/AO work.

Oh, and in case you want to check out the GREAT resource from the UN Association of Canada, the Kit, here it is: http://www.unac.org/yfar/education_e.htm

~Chris