Announcing the first-ever Creating Change Lobby Day!

It’s time to use our power and take action! The Task Force is thrilled to announce our first-ever Lobby Day at the U.S. Capitol during the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change 2012. Lobby Day will be an incredible way to participate in the political process and to make our voices heard by congressional members. This will give grassroots and community activists a stimulating opportunity to help create change at the federal level. It will complement the four plenary sessions, more than 250 workshops/trainings, and many networking opportunities at Creating Change.

With a focus on employment nondiscrimination and safe schools, we will explain why fair hiring, promotion and retention practices, pay equity and anti-bullying policies are tremendous concerns for LGBT people. The “How to Effectively Lobby Your Member of Congress” portion of the day will include message training on the legislation and role-play visits to give participants a chance to practice messages. Thousands of everyday people will share their stories to persuade their representatives and senators to support and co-sponsor inclusive-and-focused LGBT legislation.

We encourage individuals of all experience levels to sign up for Lobby Day. First-time citizen lobbyists are welcome and encouraged! With a significant focus on transgender education, the Creating Change Transgender Institute will participate in the Lobby Day. We hope that individuals who would otherwise have attended that institute will join us on Capitol Hill. Additionally, we hope pro-LGBT religious and spiritual leaders will join us in bringing their faith voices and perspectives. The Lobby Day will be part of the Practice Spirit, Do Justice programs at Creating Change.

Make no mistake, action is hot and power is sexy. We cannot wait to see you in Baltimore for a exciting Lobby Day and skills -building conference. Let’s create change together!

You can sign up for our Lobby Day when you register for Creating Change – when you fill out your registration, just select “First-Ever Creating Change Lobby Day” from the menu for Thursday, Jan. 26, under additional Creating Change conference details. You can apply for Creating Change scholarships by Dec. 1 here: http://creatingchange.org/scholarships_subsidized.php.

For additional information please do not hesitate to contact Task Force Lobby Day Coordinator Wes Garson wgarson@theTaskForce.org or by phone at 202.639.6307.