Recipe for a Phone-A-Thon

Thanks to Bev, Caroline, & Eva-Lee of CODEPINK New York City and Granny Peace Brigade Ingredients: Three or more outgoing persons with cellphones Our easy-does-it phone script Camera for your great photos Wide, busy sidewalk Card table or an ironing board Big, bright explanatory poster (suggestions below) Flyers Sign up sheets and pens with clipboard(s) Phone numbers of your representatives' and/or senators' local and DC offices Poster suggestions: PHONE-A-THON Call your senators and representative! Right now! For Free! Tell them to fund ONLY the safe withdrawal of our troops. DON'T BE SHY. Instructions: Place one person with cellphone near the table with a sign that says "Phone-a-thon". Others stand nearby. Holding flyers in one hand and a phone in the other, encourage passersby to call their senators and representatives. After someone stops and stares in amazement you say, "Yeah, you can use my phone." Dozens of people will make the calls to their senators and representatives and some will sign the email sign-up sheet. This recipe works best during office hours. Callers are excited to speak to a live human  in a Congressional office. It will be a first time for most of the callers and many will be nervous. You can hear people overcome their hesitation as they speak. By the end of the calls their voices will be stronger and more confident. They'll leave with flyers and the resolve to call again. Take photos at your action and add a report back to the CODEPINK website through our Local Spotlight. Creative Phone-a-Thon ideas Pink parasols are great for attracting attention -- as are pink boas, crowns, slips. Costumes: I Miss America, pink police, pink scrubs, pink crowns, Statue of Liberty. Create a giant pink phone prop out of cardboard to display next to your sign. Build a pink phone booth from a refrigerator box and invite people to make their calls there. If you have a Polaroid, take a picture of the callers with you, or if you have a digital camera, get folks to sign your sign-up form and tell them you will send them a copy of the picture since you have their address -- and then do it! Hold your Phone-a-Thon outside your representative's office. People in your city may not know where their representative's office is, so this way they'll find out, and staffers can see the callers in action! Award a sticker, made from address labels on your printer, to people who make a call. Like the "I Voted" sticker people get on Election Day, your stickers or buttons can say "I called my Congressperson today. Ask me how!" Keep a poster with a tally of how many people have called while you've been out that day, or throughout the summer, invite people add their tally mark after they call. Encourage enthusiastic callers to program the Capitol phone number into their cell phone so they can call frequently. Alert the media! Let the local TV and news reporters know about your Phone-a-Thon—it's a great local story of democracy at work. Frequently Asked Questions  Q: I have tried calling my Senator's office several times but I keep getting a busy signal. What should I do? A: Your senator has offices all over your state -- call those district offices. All the calls are tallied by each office and sent to the DC office, so it doesn't matter so much which regional office you speak with. Q: What if I call my representative after hours? A: If you call the congressional switchboard in DC (NOT the direct line to the office of rep/senator), you will be put through to voicemail if it is outside of business hours. We have done the calls in the evening and on weekends--but lunchtime on a weekday is probably ideal. Q: What if I don't have enough cell phone minutes? A: It's best to have at least 2-3 people who have cell phones to share for this action, or ask passersby to call using their own cell phones. Volunteers who don't have cell phones can help by handing out flyers and walking around with a clipboard for sign-ups. Q: Does calling really make a difference? A: Absolutely! Constant public pressure will make your elected leader listen—it's perhaps the only thing that will make them accountable to you.  Q: I live in a really conservative place and my local CODEPINK is made up of me and one other person. What should we do? A: This is a great action for you to do! It only takes three people to start a public phone-a-thon! It's simple, effective and proactive. If you still have questions please contact locals[@]codepinkalert.org.