WCCF welcomed 70 advocates from all over the state to our 2013 advocacy training and Lobby for Kids day last week. Twenty-one state senate districts were represented in the state capitol.
WCCF Executive Director Ken Taylo and Governmental Relations Manager Sabrina Gentile started the day by briefing the advocates on the 2013-2014 State Legislative District Maps. Then Sabrina continued with a presentation using various websites to show participants how to stay informed on legislation; what their legislator are working on; find out information on the state budget and separate bills; where to find a committee meeting or hearing; how to watch a committee hearing online; and of course, contacting their state legislators.
Next up was an overview of Governor Walker’s proposed state budget. Sabrina and Jon Peacock, WCCF Research Director, began the overview with a breakdown of what money gets spent in what programs. Jon presented more details on funding for health care and public education. Dave Edie, WCCF Early Care and Education Analyst, finished up with a briefing on child care and YoungStar.
WCCF Health Care Policy Analyst Sara Eskrich led a workshop on how to videotape your story to communicate with your legislator. Sara gave a demonstration of testimonial videos posted on YouTube and then showed participants how to do it themselves. Sara also took pictures of the advocates with their advocacy messages on paper and created Facebook posts.
After a morning filled with issue briefings and workshops, the advocates relaxed a bit for lunch, and then started to plan their meetings with their legislators. WCCF staff helped advocates plan their discussions with State Representative and Senators. When advocates were done preparing for their meetings, they went to the Capitol for the visits with their legislators.
WCCF hopes to have another large group of advocates for next year’s session. If your group needs advocacy training and/or briefings on the state budget, please contact Sabrina Gentile (sgentile@wccf.org) for more information.
