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Tips and Guidelines
for Piece of the Pie 2008
To start off, it is a good idea to identify one or two others who will
work with you to help organize around the actions below. Meet to create
a timeline for actions and to break out responsibilities. If it will be
primarily just you who is organizing, you may choose to do an
abbreviated version of the items below. If you can't do all these
things, participating on a May 9th pie delivery/meeting is the most
important part to engage in.
Quick Links to other Peace of the Pie Pages
Peace of the Pie Campaign | Downloads for Congressional Packets
CONGRESSIONAL VISITS
The ultimate goal of these visits is to get your member of Congress to sign on as a co-sponsor of the legislation (HR 808), or if they already are a co-sponsor, to become a CHAMPION of the legislation.
You can visit your members of the House of Representatives as well as your two Senators’ offices. If necessary, have your group of volunteers split up to assure each office is visited. Let the offices know that people all over the country are taking part in this campaign.
Schedule the meeting
It is best to set up an actual meeting, but if all else fails, just drop by and leave your materials and pies. Even for a drop-in, it’s a good idea to call ahead and let them know you are coming. For tips on setting up a meeting with an aide or your member of Congress, click here.
If May 9 won’t work for your meeting date, schedule a meeting the week before or after. Although it’s most powerful when we show up as a coordinated national campaign, the most important thing is that the meeting happens!
Remember, the unique nature of this action (bringing pies) will help make your visit memorable and personal. As always, we strive first to connect, not to convince. If you can, plan to actually eat pie with the office members and enjoy your visiting time, as well as getting down to business.
If you have multiple districts in your area, team up with people from other districts to create a regional strategy. Consider which Representative is closest to co-sponsoring the bill and focus on getting a lot of people to that office.
Materials are updated and available to download.
To register as an organizer or see if an event is already planned in your district:
Create a broad coalition of support for your meeting
For both your house party (details below) and Congressional office visits, invite friends and family of course, but also be creative about getting people behind this initiative. Invite employees of local domestic violence shelters, gang prevention groups, clergy, police and anyone who understands the impact of violence on our communities and is willing to stand with you.
Bringing in a broad coalition of people will help to get the attention of your members of Congress, make your position (and the bill) more credible, and make it a more appealing story for the media to cover (media tips below). And don’t forget to bring young people! College and high school youth have proven to be some of our most powerful spokespeople. Even the littlest child (along with pictures they've made that convey their message of peace!) can have a BIG impact.
Use tabling and public speaking opportunities as a way to build support and momentum for this action. Collect names and email addresses to remind people to call the morning of your meeting. We will also send a National E-Alert.
For tips on what to do at a congressional meeting, visit this page. Be sure to put time in your planning schedule to get the group together to organize and practice your speaking parts.
Rep already a cosponsor?
It's vital that you still go and say THANK YOU! Co-sponsorship is just the first step in supporting the legislation. We need their help not only in building support, but in refining our legislative strategy. Ask them about:
- Other representatives they would be willing to talk to about coming on as a cosponsor
- Publicly supporting the bill in an op-ed for the local paper, a public speaking event, a publication to their constituents, or a news story
- Writing a "dear colleague" letter to their colleagues inviting them to also co-sponsor
- Gaining bi-partisan support. Is there a Republican Representative they would be willing to talk to? What Republican in your state is the most likely to cosponsor?
- Other ideas about advancing the legislation
Can’t attend a meeting?
There will be plenty of people in your area who support the legislation who won’t make it to the actual meeting. Have them (and you) follow up with lots of phone calls and faxes to their Representative’s office. Collect postcards and letters from them to take with you.
What about your Senators?
Even though we don’t currently have a bill introduced in the Senate, we’re working hard to make that happen. If you have the time and people, you can certainly create a regional strategy for visiting your Senate offices as well. And if don’t, don’t worry. One pie to one Representative is a HUGE contribution to this campaign!
MEDIA
As in previous years, we’ll be doing a coordinated national media campaign, and you are the star! Getting media to cover your efforts is an important way to both educate your community and to help your members of Congress know that this issue is important to your community.
National Communications Director, Patty Kuderer hosted a conference call to provide training and support on April 15th. If you missed the call, you can still contact Patty for help. Basically, you’ll want to call your local newspapers and television stations and send them a press release telling them what you’re doing. Ask them to come and take pictures of local teams delivering the pies with the banners at the local offices. Bring your children, and make it a fun and festive event!
The media are always looking for a good angle to cover holiday stories. What better angle than the possibility of an initiative that could help drastically reduce violence against mothers and children? This is a great way to get attention for a very important endeavor.
If you are going to split up your group to make office visits, you may want to hold a rally before or after the visits with the entire group for the media.
Media materials, including press release templates, are being created and updated. You should also revisit the general tips for generating media.
HOUSE PARTY/OUTREACH EVENT
House parties are a key part of our grassroots campaign to spread our message. They are also an important and fun way to identify volunteers and build momentum to pass this historic legislation. Invite your friends and family over for a Peace of the Pie Party sometime just before Mother's Day (serve pie, coffee and tea), show our DVD, inform them about the campaign and your work with it -- with help from materials available on the website -- and invite them to an join this unique opportunity to visit their local congressional district office on May 9th. This is also a great time to ask for donations for the campaign. In general, keep it simple and fun. If you would like to host a more formal event, you can use our House Party Template [PDF] for ideas.
PUBLIC EVENT/RALLY
The possibilities in this category are truly endless, dictated solely by your availability, creativity, resources, and ability to rally a team to help make it happen! You can do a simple press briefing/rally with speakers on the steps of city hall, or reserve space at a park and invite musicians, clowns, face-painters, balloon animal artists, friends, families, local youth groups, celebrities, dignitaries, and whomever else you can think of. Be sure to choose a place with high visibility. Have a potluck, a barbecue, or a picnic, or serve pies and punch—and tie it all together with the message that this is a big family/community day for PEACE. Events like these can also be great fundraising opportunities.
Remember, the key here is your own creativity! Minnesota supporters took a small plastic wading pool, filled it with colored balloons, topped it with carpet padding and made a giant Peace Pie that they carried in parades and other events. Washington state supporters teamed with local women’s groups, dressed in period clothing (complete with grand hats), and held a Peace Tea in the park.
If you’re not somewhere where you can officially reserve space, be sure to check with your local police to find out whether or not you’ll need a permit.
Whatever you do, be sure to drape the area with signs and banners, and have lots of materials (plus sign-up sheets for interested people) to let everyone know this Mother’s Day is about Moms, Apple Pie, and (the Department of) Peace!
AFTER THE ACTION…
- Please take digital photos of all activities to
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! We will post selected photos on our website and if you will load all you photos to a photo sharing site like Picasa send us the link. We will post one photo and link to your gallery.
- Send a handwritten thank you note to the Congress member or staff you met with.
- Support your CDTL or Meeting Coordinator in reporting your meeting. We will send you a link after May 9th.
- Celebrate! You actively and powerfully engaged in the democratic process on behalf of PEACE!
Sign up to organize activities in your area! Check with your Congressional District Team Leader (CDTL) to see if a meeting is already scheduled, or check our list of events. If you don’t have an active CDTL, sign up to organize a meeting in your district.
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