Champion your cause with elected officials

One of the easiest—and most important—roles an activist can play is letting lawmakers on the federal, state, and local levels know how you’d like them to vote on legislation related to your

cause. You may ask elected officials to introduce or cosponsor bills or amendments, or to vote for or against an existing bill. Advocacy groups can help keep you informed—through e-mail

"action alerts" and the like—about the bills you should focus on and when they’ll be up for a floor vote so you can contact the elected officials that represent you. You also can

track the status of a piece of federal legislation on your own, using the Library of Congress’ THOMAS Web site. On the state level, the process of how a bill becomes a law varies from

legislature to legislature, and you can generally learn about it and track bills on the Web site of your state’s parliamentary body. And on the local level, you can potentially get involved

with shaping legislation in many areas of government, such as county, city council, township, municipality, and school district. To ask a lawmaker to take action on your issue, nothing is as

effective as a face-to-face meeting. Be very specific about what you’re asking the legislator to do, and get to the point quickly. You’ll probably have only a short time to talk. Bob

Willman, 59, a retired Ohio school district superintendent who now coordinates advocacy activities in the state for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), first

visited the Ohio statehouse 10 years ago to speak with his legislators about increasing funding for cancer research. "I was absolutely petrified," he said. "But I saw the

necessity for our voices to be heard, and now I can’t wait to meet with them." Be sure to arm yourself with facts on both sides of the issue, counsels Wilson of the League of Women

Voters. "Elected officials need your help sorting through the facts, and you need to be honest and tip them off to opposing arguments so they’re not caught flat-footed," she said.

Also, share a personal story with your legislator that shows how you’ve been affected by an issue or policy, advises Willman. A prostate cancer survivor, he is able to "address what

other cancer patients and their families are going through" when he heads to the statehouse with other volunteers to meet with his district representative and state senator on the ACS

CAN’s "state lobby days." He also attends an annual national-lobby day in Washington, D.C., with hundreds of other volunteers from across the county. He meets with the House member

who represents his district and with his two senators. This year, he spoke with Ohio Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and encouraged him to support a bill that would give the FDA the

authority to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products. "I’ve seen that the vast majority of elected officials really appreciate hearing from us,” Willman said. “We have

to remember that they’re our employees—they work for us."