ANCOR News - 10.15.18

5 Low-Effort, High-Impact Ways to Advance the Included. Supported. Empowered. Movement

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If you joined us for ANCOR’s 2018 Policy Summit & Hill Day, you had a front-row seat to our brand-new campaign video, Making the Case for Included. Supported. Empowered. When we debuted the video, we called on nearly 200 Summit participants to think about how the video—as well as the campaign more broadly—can fuel advocacy efforts both on Capitol Hill and beyond.

As you may be familiar, Included. Supported. Empowered. is the ANCOR Foundation’s bold, multiyear storytelling initiative designed to make the case for investments in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the critical supports and services on which they rely.

With a successful day of Capitol Hill visits in our rearview mirror and a wider-than-ever audience for the Included. Supported. Empowered. campaign, the time to build on our momentum is now. Whether you already took the message to your federal lawmakers by advocating for policies like the HEADs UP Act or Money Follows the Person, or if you’re just starting to get your feet wet, there are a range of low-effort, high impact ways to advance our collective vision. Here are five ways to take the next step—or the first step—to fuel your advocacy efforts:

  1. Invite your networks to sign up for updates from the campaign. Once every month, we send emails with our top stories, plus quick and easy ways to take action in support of I/DD supports and services. By inviting your colleagues, the individuals you support and their family members, your donors and others in your network to join the campaign, you can help us build our base of committed campaign supporters. Use this email template to send an invitation.
  2. Share our Making the Case video on Facebook. Within the vast and growing repository of stories and videos housed on the Included. Supported. Empowered. website, perhaps the most compelling description of the importance of this movement is found in the video we debuted at the Policy Summit. Watch the video on Facebook, and then create a post sharing it with our existing social media followers.
  3. 3.Add any or all of our new DSP videos to your website. You know as well as anyone that Direct Support Professionals are at the heart of what we do, which is why we’ve launched an ongoing series of short videos that explain what it means to be a DSP why this vibrant workforce deserves our investment. These videos are great for your advocacy efforts, as well as in your efforts to recruit new DSPs. Visit our YouTube page to watch these compelling videos and find code you can use to embed them on your website.
  4. Submit your own story of a provider that exemplifies what it means to include, support and empower. Since we started this movement, we’ve heard story after story of dedicated providers helping incredible individuals live independently, work in a fulfilling career path, develop a sense of community and more. Telling these stories is exactly why we launched the Included. Supported. Empowered. campaign, and while we’ve already shared dozens of these stories, our work is just beginning. Submit a story on our website to help fuel our efforts and yours. We’ll be back in touch shortly!
  5. Chip in to support the movement today. We are immensely grateful for the contributions of the ANCOR Foundation Board of Trustees, the ANCOR Board of Directors, our slate of campaign supporters and others. But Included. Supported. Empowered. is the most ambitious endeavor of its kind, and we can’t do this work alone. A donation of any size can help us develop stories, create videos, expand our reach and better equip our vibrant community of providers to show the world the power of included, supported, empowered. Make a donation to the ANCOR Foundation today to help us expand this movement.

For all you’ve done, and for all you do, thank you. Included. Supported. Empowered. would not be possible without your support and commitment.

Sean Luechtefeld is ANCOR’s Communications Director. He can be reached at [email protected].