Take action
The more Members of Congress and the general public hear from concerned citizens about international assistance, the better!
Contact Congress
Email, call, or meet with your Representatives and Senators to discuss your concerns.
As a constituent, your Representatives and Senators work for you. This means that you don’t have to have any experience or any special expertise to email, call, or meet with them. Meetings have the most impact, followed by calls and emails.
You can try to meet with the Member themselves, especially if you or someone in your group is a prominent member of your community or has some type of direct relationship to the Member, such as a shared religious or professional affiliation. If that doesn’t work, meeting with their foreign policy staff is just as good!
Press outreach
Submit an opinion piece or editorial (op-ed) to your local paper on the value of foreign assistance.
Writing an op-ed
Submitting an opinion piece or editorial (op-ed) to your local paper is a great way to start a conversation in your community and with your elected officials. Most Congressional offices have staff that read local papers to learn what their constituents care about, and you can use a published op-ed to continue conversations with your neighbors, houses of worship, and even with decision-makers in Washington, DC.
Writing a letter to the editor
Letters to the Editor (LTEs) are another great tool for getting your opinion in front of your Members of Congress and your community. They are included alongside Op/Eds are other articles in clip books compiled by district staff, and can give you a great reason to follow up with them to discuss your published comments.
Learn more about writing press pieces in our Friends & Family Toolkit!