Great Work! Participants journeyed to Capitol Hill to voice their concerns on key issues, including health care that protects the life and dignity of all, putting the poor first in climate change legislation, increase and reform foreign aid reform, and freedom to travel to Cuba. CSMG participants visited over 300 Congressional offices representing 38 states and the District of Columbia, including 71 of the 100 senators; 52 Members of Congress met with them personally! See the 2009 Capitol Hill Visits Map for state-by-state totals |
About Hill Visits: Get Ready for your Meetings on Capitol Hill
Speak up for poor and vulnerable people here at home and abroad! The most important aspect of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering is your visit with your members of Congress on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
Here's how it works:
STATE DELEGATIONS
Every participant in the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering will be part of their home state delegation. Each state delegation is coordinated by a state captain. Your state captain should contact you after you have registered for the Gathering.
You will have time to meet with your state delegation on Monday, February 23, 2009 to organize yourselves and select spokespersons for the various issues that we will be advocating for and to confirm the schedule for your congressional meetings.
SCHEDULING MEETINGS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Your state captain is responsible for scheduling your state delegation's meetings with both of your Senators and we will share this important information with you.
You are responsible for scheduling a meeting with your Representative. However, if there are several people attending the Gathering from the same congressional district the state captain may ask one person to schedule the meeting. For your Representative's contact information, visit www.house.gov.
National staff will also be seeking meetings with key leaders of the New Administration. Watch for announcements of these opportunities!
NEVER DONE A CONGRESSIONAL MEETING BEFORE? Are Your ADVOCACY SKILLS RUSTY?
Join us on Sunday, February 22, 2009 for the Capitol Hill Visits 101 Workshop. Learn how to effectively steer your meetings with congressional offices and sharpen your skills with interactive role playing exercises.
MADE YOUR CASE ON CAPITOL HILL? MAKE SURE YOU CELEBRATE!
Invite those you met with to join the rest of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering participants in a lively reception on Capitol Hill, with key, members of Congress and their staffs. Make sure you brag about how many offices you visited and how many hearts and minds you changed. Check out last year’s map that shows CSMG attendees making over 270 congressional visits: Link to
For questions and information about the CSMG Hill visits, please contact:
Roxana Barillas at 202-541-3445 or via e-mail at rbarillas@usccb.org.