LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN: CONDUCT YOUR OWN!

Letter-writing campaigns conducted at various state meetings have been highly successful in giving language educators a voice in policy matters.

To send letters to Washington, we use a basic merge function in MSWord so that personal information from the teacher (name, address, where the person works, his/her special concerns, etc.) can be merged with a form letter addressing specific legislation pending before Congress.

Plan for Success:

1. The right equipment: Personal computer and a laser (or jet) printer. Many conferences rent the equipment from a commercial source; others borrow from schools or homes. This set-up should ensure smooth and quick letter-writing capabilities. Also, you might need to get a power strip and/or an extension cord, depending on where the power source is in relation to the actual letter-writing table (see #3 below).
    
2. The right software: To conduct this campaign, you will need MSWord. The JNCL-NCLIS office will provide a disk with a form letter and data source file containing a current federal issue. Of course, you can also create your own form letter with an issue that is pressing at the state level.
    
3. Location of table: There should be plenty of space (think of space for the computer with printer and then of the space needed for people to stop and write) in a well-traveled location. If possible, it should be central to registration, the exhibits, and the sessions. The more people that walk by, the more people will stop to write.
   NOTE: before settling on a location, make sure there is a convenient outlet!
    
4. Publicity: Advance material should include an announcement about the campaign and encourage people to come prepared to visit the letter-writing table. At the conference, every plenary session should include an announcement and urge attendees to visit the table. If it is possible, the conference program or packet should have an announcement. The table should be clearly marked with large signs or banners so that it is not mistaken for Pen-pals or anything else...
    
5. Volunteers: A number of people need to be available to answer questions, help participants fill-out their information sheets, recruit people wandering by to write letters, and, of course, people are needed to be typists. It has been very effective when these volunteers are there for significant blocks of time (all morning or all afternoon), so that once they figured everything out, they have time to use it, not leave at the end of the hour.
    
6. Other mechanical items include making sure there is enough paper and envelopes for the estimated number of participants (at least three sheets of paper and three envelopes each), making sure there are chairs at the table, and that a trash receptacle is at hand (preferably one for recycling "mistakes"). Also, don't forget to designate someone to stamp and mail the completed letters!

Upon Arrival:

1. Prepare Information Sheets: Participants in the campaign will fill in the blanks and give the completed sheet to the computer operator (or information assistant). Make sure there are enough for the number of people expected to participate.
    
2. Prepare Sample Letters: Many people wish to take a sample letter back to their school for their colleagues. This is an easy way to hand out the information.
    
3. Prepare Address Sheets: Keep these taped to the table and/or posted on a nearby wall so people can address their envelopes while waiting for their letters to be printed. Usually 10 copies of this sheet are enough.
    
4. Copy Maps: Many people will NOT know their Senators or Representative. This is EASILY taken care of and should not deter people from stopping by to write letters. JNCL-NCLIS will provide a map of your state or region showing the congressional districts. It should be stressed in all the pre-conference publicity and in every announcement made during the meeting that IF YOU KNOW YOUR ADDRESS, YOU CAN WRITE THIS LETTER. It will be the job of the Information Assistants to help people find the correct Members of Congress. You should have a number of copies of your state's map so that multiple people can be looking simultaneously. If you can, make enlarged copies and tape them to the wall or table. You might also want to leave a copy of the map at each table during lunch or the banquet and encourage people to come to the letter-writing table with the correct information in hand.
    
5. Train the Volunteers: Volunteers should review the process using the Information Assistant and Computer Operator Instructions (see enclosed instructions). Have plenty of these instructions on hand. Those operating the computer should do a couple of trial runs to make sure everything is operating smoothly. If possible, the training should take place at the conference site with the actual equipment to be used. Suggestion: If the letter-writing campaign is to begin on Friday morning, take a couple of hours Thursday afternoon/evening to set-up the equipment and practice with the volunteers.

Getting Going At the Conference:

1. Connect the computer and printer.
    
2. Copy the form letter and data source files to the c:\ drive. All of the information should now be ready to be used.

BEGIN WRITING LETTERS!

Ideally, volunteers will begin recruiting people to write letters and help them fill in the blanks on the information sheet. Computer operators will begin typing and merging, participants will address their envelopes and sign their letters.