A Fabulous Legislative Action Day 2008
What an incredible day it was! 30 participants met at First Church in Boston for the 2008 Legislative Action Day. This annual event teaches lobby skills to youth in a fun and interesting way. It is our hope that the youth leave with a new found skill and interest in public policy and the effective way that their voice can be used to create change and work toward reform.
UU Youth attended from Framingham, Gloucester, Essex, Ipswich, Haverhill, and Quincy. Out-of-state youth were from Brooklyn, NY and Portland, OR. They were first welcomed with continental breakfast and an issue orientation. The issues that we focused on were the Health Education Bill and the update on the Bottle Bill. Sarah Steinfeld, director of CARE for Youth, the coalition working for the Health Education Bill in Massachusetts was the first speaker. Sarah explained the motives, progress and current status of the bill. She also gave very specific direction for the youth to take into the meetings with their legislators. Thanks to Sarah’s guidance, they were very well informed and highly prepared. The issue of the Bottle Bill update was discussed as well with facts that promoted increased state revenue and recycling habits. There was heavy emphasis put on the global warming effects and landfill limitations as well. In this vein, we also introduced the campaign of “Think Outside the Bottle” which asks us to reevaluate our consumption of bottled water and drink tap water from reusable containers instead.
Following the information period, we had training sessions with role playing. The weather was fantastic so most groups took their activities outside. Under the volunteer guidance of several RE facilitators, our youth were ready to lobby. They filled up their reusable water jugs and headed up to the State House!
The youth whom I observed made strong and well prepared cases before their legislators. One group was welcomed into the House Chamber for their presentations. They were composed, informed and ready to challenge any misinformation that they were confronted with. They were so very impressive! The meetings were followed with a return to First Church and ice cream sundaes to end the day. This time was also used to write thank you cards to all who had made their day eventful at the State House.
If this event shows us anything, it is that our youth are ready and eager to learn how to make a difference and use their voices to make change. This group demonstrated their talents and their commitment to making a positive impact on lawmakers in their state. If you are interested in using this program in your own state, stay tuned. A “how to” guide is in the editing shop and will be up on the website very soon. This workshop, in the form of a “how to” will also be given during RE week at Star Island this summer. It is our hope that we can influence all RE to turn this into an annual event across the country for our future lobbyists who want to make a difference!