This post comes from our partners at ONE Campus.
You probably know that your voice is important to the global fight to end poverty. Did you know that your ability to influence policy makers and elected officials comes at the local level?
At ONE, we work to connect the local to the global by mobilizing people to advocate to their elected leaders for an end to extreme global poverty. For Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, we wanted to share five actions you can take to end global hunger:
1) Write a letter to your Member of Congress. For just 1% of the federal budget, the U.S. development account supports programs that fight hunger and malnutrition and protect food security around the world. Writing a personalized, handwritten message about this issue to your Member of Congress this week makes a powerful impact. Use this sample letter — just email campus@one.org to report your letters so we can track our impact.
2) Pick up your phone and call your Member of Congress. A phone call is another effective action you can take to protect funding for programs that fight hunger globally. It takes less than two minutes to complete a call to your Member of Congress. Just remember to call during east coast business hours. Call 1-888-213-2881 and use the call script here.
3) Spread the word about the Global Goals. In 2015, the world came together and pledged to end hunger by 2030 and set 16 other poverty-eradicating goals. It’s our job to make sure people know about these goals so we can hold our world leaders accountable for meeting them. Check out how the world is coming together to end global hunger: https://www.one.org/us/globalgoals/zero-hunger/.
4) Educate yourself. As activists, it is important that we keep learning. For example: Right now, 20 million people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen are at risk of dying of starvation due to famine: https://www.one.org/us/2017/10/16/famine-africa-causes/.
5) Students: Lead the fight against extreme poverty on your campus. Sign up to become a ONE Campus Leader and start a ONE chapter at your school. https://campus.one.org/campusleader/