Thanks to your voices and dedicated commitment, earlier this year we proudly announced Congress passed the expansion of the Rewards for Justice bill (S.2318), aimed at strengthening efforts to arrest Joseph Kony. On January 15, President Obama invited Invisible Children to join him in the Oval Office as he signed it into law. To start the year off with such a victory, you’d think we’d take it easy on the political advocacy front. False.
For the past two months, Invisible Children’s in-house crew of political advocacy experts (A.K.A. our Citizen Team) has been working with supporters across the U.S. to ensure some key members of Congress stay committed to ending LRA violence. These representatives sit on committees in Congress that will decide in the coming weeks and months whether or not the U.S. will continue to invest resources in arresting Joseph Kony, preventing LRA violence, and supporting affected communities in central Africa— making them particularly important to the movement.
Our Citizen Team continues to be amazed by the people they get to work with – many of whom have never lobbied their representatives until now (to be clear, these rookies are crushing it!) Below are a few snapshots from the dozens of lobby meetings that have already taken place across the country, along with some messages from activists about why political advocacy is so important to them.
Stayed tuned for updates on the direct impact these activists are having in Washington. For more details on what we’re lobbying for and to see if we need YOU to lobby your member of Congress this spring, visit our Citizen site.
Activists Mallorie Oetman, Giuliana Ruiz-Moreno and Stephanie Oetman with Congressman Visclosky (D-IN)
“Lobbying is one of the best ways we have to truly be involved with our democratic processes. It’s also the most effective way of having our representatives hear our voices. It’s incredibly powerful to meet with your representatives and see bills passed as a result of it. We have seen that lobbying works and our representatives are eager to hear from us. Having our voices heard in such a way is incredibly empowering.”
– Lisa Dieckman, age 18, Arlington Heights, IL
Activist Kateland Gough and Ciara Doherty meeting with a staffer from Senator Mark Kirk’s office (R-IL)
“I interact with my government officials because this is one of the greatest powers I possess not only as a citizen of the United States, but also as a global citizen. I hope to inspire our leaders to take action by sharing the stories of success and perseverance of everyday people in central Africa and those here at home in the U.S. By illustrating our passion for the social justice, my hope is that swift and positive large-scale change can occur for central Africa.”
– Garrett Moore, San Diego, CA
Activists Jaclyn Licht, Cassidy Bennett, Gianna Sollitto, Rachel Tecirea, and Cheynne Caveault with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
“I love being involved in political advocacy because as a high school social studies teacher, I love to show my students how easy it is to meet with your representatives and how important it is that we keep up a dialogue with them. So many people fought for us to have these rights and this type of representative government, and I feel like it’s an injustice not to utilize it.”
— Sara Hutton, age 21, Monroe, CT
Activists Erin Keating, Michael Arredondo, Laura Weldy and Tony Bazilo on their way to a meeting with Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA)
“The government is there to serve us and our representatives are just that — our representatives. They don’t know that we want something unless we tell them.”
— James Buckhorn, age 19, Carmel, IN
Well, we think that sums it up pretty well. Huge thanks from our Citizen Team — and the entire Invisible Children staff — to everyone who has volunteered to lead or participate in a lobby meeting this spring.
Find out more about our IC Citizen team and how you can get involved with the political leaders in your area [HERE].
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