Advocacy Update: 5 Ways to Advocate in 2020

Jennifer Donahue
Communications Manager, WCAAP

The Washington State Legislature will kick off its 2020 session next Monday, and 100+ WCAAP advocates will be in Olympia the very next day to remind legislators to put kids first. But even if you can’t be in Olympia for Advocacy Day on January 14^th, you can still play an important role as an advocate this session. Here are 5 easy actions you can take to speak up for kids:

1. Download our Mobile Action Center App. It takes less than a minute, and the app makes it easy for you to quickly respond to action alerts when we need you to contact your legislators.
2. Sign up to testify in Olympia. We keep a list of pediatric health care providers who are willing to provide testimony at committee hearings during session. Never testified before? No problem – we can help you write your testimony and give you pointers on how to be most effective. Live far away from Olympia? That’s not a problem either – we may be able to arrange remote testimony or defray travel expenses. Just let us know the days of the week you may be available, your phone number, and what topics are of particular interest to you.
3. Reach out to your legislators. You don’t have to wait for an action alert from WCAAP to get in touch with your legislators, you can call their offices any time to introduce yourself and offer yourself as an expert in child health if they have questions or need a resource.
4. Write to your local paper. Shining a public light on the issues families in your community are facing helps us get legislators’ attention, like this recent guest opinion column by Dr. Emily Kemper.  Contact us if you want some help putting your thoughts into words.
5. Recruit your friends! We need advocates in every corner of the state so that every single legislator knows that Washington’s pediatric health care community is active and engaged. You can help by sharing our action alerts with your colleagues and encouraging them to get involved.

   

Washington’s kids are lucky to have such exceptional health care providers who have their best interests at heart, and WCAAP is lucky to have such dedicated advocates who are committed to making Washington a better place for kids. Thank you.