Advocacy plays an important role in educating our legislatures; those who make laws that affect our work, our play, and our lives. As American citizens, we are lucky to be able to bring our point of view to the lawmaking table. Legislatures are elected by us and want to hear what we have to say. Without our votes and support, they will not be re-elected, so your opinion does matter.
I have heard some people say that they cannot advocate because of whom they work for. This is not true. Think of advocating as educating; you can educate your legislators on any topic, even if it will support what you do for a living. You don’t have to ask the legislator to vote a certain way, but you can give him/her more information that will assist him/her in making an educated choice. Write your legislators from home, with no affiliation to your business, as a concerned American citizen.
On this page are links to various websites which will assist you in writing letters directly to your legislator, determining who your legislators are, writing letters to the editor for major newspapers in Ohio, and learning about the law making process both in the federal and state governments. Advocacy doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but the outcome may last forever. As an American citizen, you have the power to make the outcome a positive one.
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Advocacy Websites- Create and send letters to your legislatures electronically, health facts can be cut and pasted right from the website. (To do this, find your legislature, click on Compose Message, select one of the current topics to write about, select next step; a separate window should pop up called Talking Points, if not, click on Talking Points next to the subject line of the e-mail message.)
- Get information about specific health education bills $$- Information about current health education legislation
- Sample letters, testimonies, and press releases - Advocacy tips and links
- Media advocacy handbook - Information about activities in the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate
- Subscriptions are available to receive daily reports on these activities - Information about Ohio's state government and Ohio's Health Care Industry
- Subscriptions are available to receive daily reports on these activities - View sample letters to your legislature
- Ways to get involved
- Register to receive updates about health promotion advocacy action alerts and other information Tools for AdvocatingLetters directly to your legislature - Every letter received at your legislature's office is read; you may even get a response Meeting with your legislature - Call your legislature's office to set up a meeting; they want to meet with you.
- Go prepared with a list of statements or facts about a specific topic
- Give him or her your opinion and how his or her decision will affect your community Testifying at a congressional hearing - Contact your legislature's office to get the schedule of committee meetings and to offer your testimony
- See the website links below to get a schedule of committee meetings Letters to the Editor - Your legislature's staff is responsible for reading the local newspapers to get the opinions of the public
- Your letter will be noticed, but this is not the most effective way to advocate National Agencies- Tips for a face to face meeting
- Tips for writing a letter
- Useful links for advocacy - Links to the US Senate and House of Representatives
- Contacting your senator and representative - Legislative issues
- Advocacy: including the Media Advocacy Handbook - Now Hear This – The Nine Laws of Successful Advocacy Communications - National SOPHE's new strategic plan - Tips from the Minnesota State Legislature - The government information connection gives tips on writing letters - Tips from an Arizona congressman; your letters are important - Sample letters for Minnesota legislatures Letters to the editor- Dayton Daily News – tips on writing letters to the editor and press releases - Columbus Dispatch; click on editorials/letters/forum to write a letter to the editor - Cincinnati Enquirer; click on the letter to the editor form - The Toledo Blade; click on help/FAQ's, then click on how do I write a letter to the editor - The Akron Beacon Journal Federal Government Links- Information about federal bills and congressional records - Find your US Senators
- Learn about the Senate and its current legislative activities
- Search for current bills and track their activity - Find your US Representatives and contact them
- Learn about the House of Representatives and its current legislative activities
- Search for current bills and track their activity
- Educational Links: learn about how laws are made - Information about the United States government - How laws are made - Outline of the United States Government $- Call 1-800-FED INFO (that's 1-800-334-4636) (TTY 1-800-326-2996) between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time. All services are free. State Government Links- Information about the state of Ohio, its house of representatives, and its senate
- Finding your Ohio representative or senator by zip code or district or name - How a bill becomes a law in Ohio - How to make your voice heard Topic Specific Advocacy Sites- Booster seat law - Gun violence
- Substance abuse
- Register to receive information and action alerts - HIV/AIDS information and resources
- Join the advocacy network - Diabetes information and resources
- Register to become an advocate and receive action alerts (Click on Community and Resources, then on advocates) Political Links- Get information on current candidates in your area
- Find your candidates
- Register to vote
- Get the status of current bills
- View lesson plans for teachers to discuss politics in their classrooms - Political resources
- View polls and their results
- Get political news (general and special interest)
- See the candidates for the 2008 presidential election - Get information on Health Policy regarding various health issues such as Medicaid, Medicare, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, etc.
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Legislation & Advocacy 
