Campaign Toolbox
If you’re going to create change, you’ll need the best tools. Luckily, we’ve already developed them for you! In advocacy, there’s a hierarchy of effectiveness that’s easy to follow: 1 in-person meeting with a representative > 5 hand-written letters = 50 phone calls = 500 petition signatures. Consequently, we’re stressing meetings, letters and phone calls! Oh, and social media (use #LitterFreeVA to tag us!) We’ve provided all the materials you’ll need below:
In-Person Meeting with Representative
If you can set up an in-person meeting with a representative or their staffer, you’ve hit the jackpot! This is your time to shine. But wow, advocacy in person can be hard. Specific talking points can be found above. The important thing is to introduce yourself, and then briefly explain why this issue is important to you. We can’t emphasize “you” enough. They want to hear how litter effects you. Be positive and kill with kindness! Use the facts we’ve given you.
Send a Postcard/Letter
Postcards and letters are a surefire way to get a local representative’s attention. The more you send, and the more people you get to send, the more effective you’ll be! We encourage you to tell your own story, but below you’ll see a tried and true sample. Make sure to add your name and address so your representative knows that you’re a constituent. Need to find your representative’s contact info? Find it here.
Send an Email
Get a group of people to send an email in which the subject line contains the bill name (to be determined) or the issue (legislation on single-use plastic bags). The body of the email should mention your full name, local address and phone number, and a very short message on why you care about this issue. Find sample email in the attached documents above. Need to find your representative’s contact info? Find it here.
Don’t want to spend the time writing out your own email? We’ve got you covered – just put your information and your representatives contact info into this form, and we can send them a pre-written email asking them to make a push for impactful plastics legislation in your community. Find the form here.
Social Media
In addition to sharing this website, we urge you to take photos and tag them with #LitterFreeVa on Instagram and Twitter so we can document Virginia’s litter problems. This is super easy and (super?) fun. Any time you walk by litter, take a photo, upload it to Twitter or Instagram, and tag us using #LitterFreeVA. Bonus points if you add location (including zip code if possible) as well as a bit of colorful (but positive) commentary. Remember: your profile must be public in order for us to collect your photo.