Second Draft of Op-Ed

RESULTS Brings Hope for Poverty and Hunger

One in six American children live below the poverty line. Globally, there are 1.2 billion people living on less than $1 per day. Most of these are women. The US Department of Agriculture reports that more than 35 million Americans were living in households considered “food insecure” in 2005. And the number of people in “very low food security” households was 10.8 million.

The issues of poverty and hunger have weighed on my heart for years. I was also frustrated by my lack of knowledge about how to be an effective advocate for change. I would write emails to my elected officials and got spotty response. Watching the news just didn’t provide enough information about legislation in Congress and so I felt I was tilting at windmills trying to get something done. In addition, I was, and I felt, alone in my efforts.

In October 2006 I attended the Churches United Zero Poverty Symposium here in Cedar Rapids. One of the speakers was Jos Linn, a RESULTS organizer who spoke about what this international organization is doing to create the public and political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty.

I was hooked. Our local Cedar Rapids RESULTS group formed just a month later and now comprises nine members from three communities of faith in the Cedar Rapids area. We meet twice each month: once for national conference calls and once to write letters, letters to the editor, and other activities specific to bills pending in Congress.

RESULTS is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization which mobilizes grassroots activists throughout the world and provides them the education and tools necessary to lobby Congress, the media and their communities successfully on issues of poverty and hunger.

Since RESULTS has happened to me, now I have hope that I can affect change for those living in poverty and hunger. I know now that emails to members of Congress are not enough and oftentimes are not the most effective means of communication. Rather, developing relationships with members of Congress by meeting with them, calling them and faxing hand-written letters to Washington have a much greater impact. Also, I know how influential the media can be in this effort. Through RESULTS, our group has developed a good relationship with reporters and editorial writers from this paper, urging them to highlight these issues more. I also now know how to write a letter to the editor in order to both educate and motivate the reader to take action. RESULTS gives me background information on the issues that provides the tools necessary to write effective letters and make phone calls that will have an impact.

But most of all, RESULTS provides me with a community of like-minded individuals who are also searching for hope in the fight against hunger and poverty. There are 100 RESULTS groups throughout the country doing the same things I’m doing. When the Cedar Rapids group meets, we are each encouraged by the fact that we are not alone in our efforts; we are a community of activists working in concert with others to end poverty and hunger.

Membership in RESULTS is painless. For more information, call me at 377-4772 or email me at dianemjohnsmith@aol.com. I’d love to share what RESULTS can do for you.

Diane John-Smith
CR Area RESULTS Group
1470 44th Street #4
Marion, IA 52302360-1477