Earth Day is always a good time for newspapers to editorialize on climate change, and when Chicago volunteer Joe Tedino was asked if he could make a pitch to the Sun-Times, he didn't hesitate to say "yes." Joe had been in touch previously with the opinion editor at the paper and has a good relationship with him. After a few email exchanges and a phone call, it looked like the Sun-Times was on board to run an Earth Day editorial on the need for Congress to enact climate legislation. Other issues, however, pushed the climate editorial back, and the editor asked Joe if the paper could talk to some of the CCL members on May 3. 

The group, including CCL Research Coordinator Rick Knight, had a great 30 minute long Zoom meeting with the editorial board. A few days later the paper came out with a strong editorial: "This is the moment we need to do something big, or we will lose the battle to protect the planet." 

Great work, and congratulations to Joe and the Chicago team for their hand in getting the Sun-Times to prod Congress to take strong climate action! Read and share this great editorial.

5/12: Lobbying 101: The Transformative Power of Citizen Advocacy — Learn about citizen advocacy, and hear stories from CCL volunteers around the country who demonstrate building meaningful, long-term relationships with their congressional office. This is Part I in the “Working With Congress” training series, designed to empower you to be ready for our annual June lobby meetings. Join us!

5/19: June Lobby #1: Legislative Plan — Join CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Dr. Danny Richter for a training that will provide insights on the dynamics in Congress and how we can most effectively use our time in meetings to support our agenda. This is a recommended training for any CCL volunteer planning on being a part of their group's June 2022 Lobby Meeting. Join us! 

5/24: Active Hope for Climate Change Advocates — Active Hope is a 2-hour Zoom workshop hosted by the Resilience Building Action Team to strengthen your resilience and fortify your enthusiasm for climate activism and the vitality of life. Sign up for the May 24 workshop here. There will also be a live Active Hope workshop offered at the June conference. 

Need training on the basics? Catch our next session of Core Volunteer Training, made for newer volunteers:

5/17: Lobbying 201: Practicing Effective Lobbying — Join Amy Bennett, CCL’s Director of Congressional Liaisons and Lobby Days, for an online training that will walk you through important considerations for a lobby meeting and what an actual meeting with your member of Congress looks like. Join us!

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.