Join Us - Become an Advocate

We need your help! If you support our goals, we encourage you to get involved.

Why become a grassroots advocate?

There are many benefits to becoming a grassroots advocates. Becoming an advocate will allow you to grow your professional skills by learning about and engaging in political advocacy. By helping us pass Senator Lugar’s Health Promotion FIRST Act (S.866) and Senator Harkin’s Healthy Workforce Act (S.1754), you will be a part of the movement to put health promotion on the national agenda. If these bills pass, the health promotion industry will grow and strengthen significantly.

What does a grassroots advocate do?

There are 435 Congressional districts in the United States, and each one is served by an elected member of the House of Representatives. Our goal is to recruit at least one health promotion professional in each Congressional District who is interested in encouraging their Representative and their Senators to support health promotion issues.

Health Promotion Advocates will provide training and support to all grassroots advocates. Grassroots advocates will ask their elected officials for support of Senator Lugar's Health Promotion FIRST Act (S.866) and Senator Harkin's Healthy Workforce Act (part of S.1754). All contacts with Congressional offices can be made by telephone and mail. These efforts will take 30 minutes to 2 hours per year, depending upon how much effort you take to get to know the Congressional office staff. If you are interested, Join now!

Grassroots Advocate Responsibilities

1. Take a few moments for a brief review of the legislative process and in particular, how a bill is passed.
    
2. Identify contact information for your two Senators and House representative member. All you need is your zip code.
    
3. Familiarize yourself with the health promotion pending legislation:

   Health Promotion FIRST (Funding Integrated Research Synthesis and Training) (bill no. S.866)

   Healthy Workplace Act (bill no. S.1754)
    

4. Contact your health promotion colleagues and encourage them to become an advocate. Background information and additional aides are available at the Health Promotion Advocates Website. Join us now!
    
5. When action is requested (by e-mail announcement through the Health Promotion Advocates network), make contact with your Senators’ or House of Representative’s legislative aid. Then log in your activity at the Grassroots Survey link.
    
6. Email HPA and share success stories. Let us know if you had a unique contact experience or did something creative to recruit new advocates.