World Vision ACT:S is a network of young people committed to exploring what our faith says about poverty and injustice, using creative activism to bring issues to life and change hearts, and using our voices to advocate on AIDS, malaria, hunger, and child slavery.
If you are not already a member of ACT:S, we encourage you to check out our About page and join the ACT:S network for bi-weekly e-mail updates.
Below are the latest stories, resources, and campaigns. If you would like to contribute, e-mail acts@worldvision.org.
How to write to spark action
By Lauren Seibert, ACT:S Advocacy & Campaigns Fellow
The truth is, writers want their readers to become temporarily OCD. We want them to follow an inescapable compulsion to finish the article. We want them snared to the very end. And then we want them to respond.
When writing about issues like human trafficking or malaria, which are ruining millions of kids’ lives as we speak, of course we want to glue readers to our words with the same level of interest that gets “Charlie bit my finger” 200 million views on YouTube—a number that multiplied fast as people told their friends about it. But that doesn’t always happen. Why not?
There’s a big difference between writing informatively about an issue and creating a piece that becomes a catalyst in itself, reacting with readers on a level that sparks them into action.
Get published as an ACT:S Contributor!
Looking for a way to spread the word on issues you care about and get some writing published? Want your writings to become a resource other activists can use? Join World Vision as an ACT:S Contributor!
World Vision ACT:S needs a range of voices to enrich our content and you’ll get published with one of the world’s largest international humanitarian organizations.
We’re looking for creative, well-written articles on any of the issues we cover—human trafficking, malaria, HIV/AIDS, poverty and hunger—as well as faith and justice stories and reflections, “creative activism” pieces, or articles on advocacy. The door’s wide open.
Sign up HERE to become an ACT:S Contributor! You’ll receive our writer’s guidelines via email—and then you can start writing. Also, you will recieve an e-mail once a month on the type of content we are looking for that month!
The perks (if your article is selected):
• Publication on our website - and possibly through other media partners
• Inside scoops on the issues
• We send you tips for writing hard-hitting articles on topics that matter… and getting people to read them
• Free stuff (we’ll mail you a useful book that’s actually good)
Congress falls short on promise: the fight for $1 billion
By Craig Jaggers, World Vision health policy advisor
For most children in Africa, mosquito bites that pass on malaria are a lethal threat. And now, programs to combat this killer disease are at risk as a House appropriations subcommittee just bit off nearly 70 percent of the increase in the president's request for malaria programs -- an amount already short of the $1 billion a year commitment the United States made in 2008.
If action isn't taken, malaria funding could be limited to $615 million in fiscal year 2011, $70 million below the president's request and far short of the congressional promise to provide $1 billion a year.
ACT NOW: Ask Congress to keep its promises and protect funds to end malaria!
These cuts are not merely for the sake of fiscal austerity, as the committee provided increases above the president's request in other accounts.
This is a critical moment, and for those of us who care about protecting children from this lethal disease, a time for action. It's not too late to provide more funding for malaria, but Congress needs to hear that people care. The full House of Representatives will need to vote on the appropriations bill, and the Senate has not yet taken action on the appropriations bill affecting global health. Action now could make all the difference.
ACT NOW: Ask Congress to keep its promises and protect funds to end malaria!
Trafficking in my hometown
By Lauren Seibert, World Vision ACT:S Fellow
I came home from college in May to find my sister reading “Half The Sky,” a book by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn that explores the oppression of women across the world, focusing especially on sex trafficking and gender-based violence. “You should read this,” my sister prodded me. Dutifully, I plunked it on top of the stack of books I planned to read this summer.
OUR VOICES COUNT: Your advocacy helps make our laptops and cell phones "conflict free"
OUR VOICES COUNT! Thanks to many of your advocacy actions, Congress has passed the "Conflict Minerals Act." By passing this bill, Congress took an important step today toward giving American consumers and companies assurance their laptop and cell phone purchases won't fund violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Critical provisions addressing so-called "conflict minerals" were included in the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 passed by Congress. These provisions will require companies to file documentation with the Security and Exchange Commission, demonstrating that the minerals purchased from the DRC or adjoining countries are not sourced from a conflict zone. These filings will be subject to independent audits to make sure they are accurate and legitimate.
ACT NOW: Thank Congress for passing the Conflict Minerals Trade Act!
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Connect with us at: acts@worldvision.org or 1-888-876-2004.
ACT:S is the activism network for World Vision. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. |
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