It is always a good time to educate your elected representatives about the importance and power of youth service and service-learning for their district and the state. Show your legislator how your youth service or service-learning activities make a difference, and what impact it is having on substantive issues such as literacy, the environment, and healthy youth development.
Here are some ideas for educating your legislator:
- Send your legislator an informational package about
your initiative, its successes, and its impact on the community.
Introduce yourself to local elected officials and their office
staff. Let them know that you can be a source of information
for them if they are looking for data about youth development,
national or community service or service-learning, or volunteer
issues.
- Get participants to send your legislator a letter: Incorporate this into service-learning reflection activities.
Have youth, teachers, parents, or community partners send their
reflections to their elected officials. "Dear Elected Official:
Just wanted to let you know about this great learning experience
that I had. Not only did I learn about history but also I had
an opportunity to develop my sense of civic responsibility by
putting this knowledge to work in the community."
- Research your legislators' priorities (often
on his/her Web site) to determine if any of those priorities
match the mission of your service work. If so, communicate that
in a letter and commend your legislator's commitment.
- Give Your legislator a role:
- Offer elected officials opportunities to visit your program and talk with participants. Make it attractive and easy for them to visit. Arrange good photo opportunities and have commitments from other community leaders to be there.
- Ask your legislator to be a keynote speaker, present an award, or recognition certificate to students and/or community partners at a service event or a leadership meeting.
- Ask your legislator to cut a ribbon on a new garden or a new structure created by young people.
- Ask your legislator to be part of a panel on education, the environment, or other issues relating to what young people are learning about.
- Ask your legislator to meet with young people involved in service to share their service background and the reasons why they chose public service as a career.
- Have young people set up a meeting (at the local district
office) to educate their legislator about the youth service
or service-learning projects they are involved in. Tip:
If you do set up a meeting, have young people write a press
release or call the local media — tell the legislator
the media might be there.
- Stay in touch and in tune: Once you have made contact with your legislator, cultivate that relationship - stay in touch and in tune with him or her. Provide periodic updates on the impact of your initiative in your district. Tell your local officials and their staff about your program and its successes, preferably a few weeks in advance of the times when they will be most likely to speak about your issues (National Youth Service Day, the start of school, Earth Day, or other "Days" that address your program's activities).
For a list of legislators in your area, see the California State Assembly
or the California State Senate
.
