Get Involved!
Community Activism
How to set up an Emergency Summit Meeting for your Congressional District
Posted on Monday July 24, 2006
Thank you for agreeing to organize an emergency summit for Arab Americans in your congressional district. We appreciate your enthusiasm. The emergency district meeting provides an opportunity for members of the Arab American community to urgently communicate their concerns to elected officials. Especially in an election year, concerns expressed locally carry as much, if not more, weight than concerns expressed in Washington D.C. We are certain your message will get passed by elected officials (or their staff) to the relevant people in Washington.
In order to organize your event you need to do three things:
1. Identify a location
2. Invite your three Congressional representatives (one Representative and two Senators)
3. Invite the community.
Identify a Location
If possible, pick someplace that is familiar to the community and somewhere that has enough room to handle the audience you think you might get. The topic of an emergenc y meeting will always be an issue the community is very passionate about, so expect a better turnout than you might get for a typical meeting. Because there will also always be limited time, better to go with a less than perfect option than delay too long and miss the opportunity to reach people with at least a day’s notice.
Invite Your Congressional Representatives
If you are not familiar with the contact information for your Members of Congress (MOCs), you can find here.
We recommend you send a short invite by fax to the District office and also to the Washington office. If you can only do one, send it to the District office. Please follow up with the District office right away by phone to make sure they received the fax and give them a deadline for when you will call back to confirm attendance. Do not be upset if the MOC cannot make it, as long as they agree to send a serious representative, such as the Director of the MOCs District office. The important thing is to have someone there who will communicate your concerns to the MOC.
Remember, this is short notice.
Invite the Community
Because of the short notice, email will be your best bet followed by phone calls. AAI can forward an email to our members in your district, and supply you with a phone list to make follow-up calls. You may also want to produce a simple flyer for the event to distribute in the community. Let us know if you need assistance with that – we can also add our logo to your finished flyer.
Keep in touch with AAI
Please let us know as soon as you start planning your meeting. Tell us what District you are organizing, and let us know how we can help you reach your community. Call 202 429-9210 and ask for the Community Relations liaison for your state, or email vsmith@aaiusa.org.
