THE LIVING CONSTITUTION 179
UNDERSTANDING HOW TO LOBBY
PLANNING A LOBBYING CAMPAIGN
Form a committee with other students to organize a
lobbying campaign—a campaign to influence legislation
or public policy. Create a plan for the campaign that
includes materials to be presented to government offi-
cials. In creating your plan, keep the following points
in mind.
CREATING A LOBBYING PLAN
Establish a clear goal of what you want to achieve.
Make sure all members of the group understand and
agree with the established goal.
Identify the appropriate people to lobby—the peo-
ple who can best help you to achieve your goal. For
example, if your group is planning to lobby to have
a bill passed, you would lobby the legislators who
will vote on the bill. However, if your group wants to
lobby for a local improvement—such as cleaning up
an abandoned factory site—you should lobby the
local officials who make those decisions.
Gather statistics and other information that support
your case. Explore a variety of resources, including
the library, the Internet, and news services. Conduct
interviews with appropriate state or local officials.
Use the information you gather to develop a brief
written report that can be given to the officials you
intend to lobby.
Organize public opinion in favor of your case. Gather
signatures on petitions or conduct a letter-writing
campaign to encourage people who support your
goal to contact government officials. You can also
create fliers calling attention to your cause.
Present your case to government officials firmly but
politely. Practice your presentation several times
before you actually appear before them.
PRESENTING YOUR PROJECT
Share your lobbying plan with the rest of the class in
the form of a written proposal that includes materials,
such as petition forms, that you will use in your lobbying
effort. If you implement your lobbying plan, describe to
the class what response you received from the officials
you lobbied.
VOLUNTEERING IN YOUR COMMUNITY
MAKING AN ORAL REPORT
Identify a local communi-
ty organization that you
might want to help. Find
out what kinds of volunteer
activities the organization
has, such as answering
phones in the office, serving
food to the homeless, or
cleaning vacant lots. Then
volunteer to participate in
one of those activities.
Prepare an oral report to pre-
sent to the rest of the class
about your experiences as a
volunteer. Keep the follow-
ing points in mind as you
choose which organization
to help.
SUGGESTIONS FOR VOLUNTEERING
Decide what kinds of public service projects
might interest you. You might talk to your parents,
a teacher, friends, a local church, or a local political
organization to learn what kinds of volunteer ser-
vices are needed in your community.
Call local community organizations to find out
what kinds of volunteer opportunities they offer and
decide whether you would like to volunteer for those
projects.
Decide what cause you want to support and iden-
tify an organization that addresses that cause.
Decide what type of work you want to do and
work with that organization.
PRESENTING YOUR PROJECT
Deliver an oral report to your class about your expe-
riences as a volunteer. Explain why you chose the spe-
cific volunteer activity that you did. Describe the activ-
ity you performed. Then explain what effect your vol-
unteering had as well as whether you felt the experience
was a good one.
PROJECT 4PROJECT 3
A group of young volunteers in
the Summer of Service project
discusses plans with carpenters.
