A successful advocacy campaign requires group effort and for the message to be effective, a large body of individual voices must be heard by lawmakers. When you put a face to real stories, you connect your messages to real life struggles. It’s the only way to secure your quality of life and the life of the 30 million kidney disease patients who stand beside you and behind you.   

Yes You Can!

Even if you don’t know anything about politics, you are an expert on your experience with kidney disease. If everyone felt they didn’t have the skills to express their story or that their story wouldn’t make a difference, no one’s voice would be heard. Individual voices carry—and resonate as a powerful

Your Voice Matters!

As a constituent, you are far more likely to get a meeting with your legislator’s office. There are many ways to arrange a meeting your legislators. You call their office or write a letter. While lawmakers may not always vote the way you would like them to, or support all the issues you support, they do care about the views of their constituents. When real lives are at stake, disease issues rise above standard politics, but they can’t do so without your voice to carry that message.

Written Communications & Local Meetings 

When submitting an opinion or calling in to to request a meeting, briefly explain what you’d like to talk about and why the issue is so important to you personally. Carry that message over to your live meeting by expanding your ASK into an opportunity to tell your personal story and how your ASK would make a difference for you—and the 30 million people with kidney disease nationwide.

Make the Numbers Speak for Themselves.

If you are in DC, use national numbers, but always include your local state numbers. For example, including the number of people on dialysis, number of people waiting for a transplant, the number of people who die each year while waiting, and cost of dialysis—and, the quality of life benefits and cost-savings of transplant.

Handouts

Be sure to leave them with a one-page handout of your points that relate to what you’re asking for, including your contact information so your legislator or their staff can contact you with any questions. Following up with an e-mail to thank them for their time and provide any additional information that you agreed to get to them. By doing so, you will have established a comfort zone for building an on-going relationship. Lastly, be sure to post and blog your conversations and efforts in social media.

Become a kidney patient policy advocate. Start sharing your voice today.