WE MUST ACT NOW

Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010

Dear Supporter,

As someone who cares about children in the developing world, can I ask for a minute of your time?

Last year Ireland made a promise to spend 0.7% of our national income on overseas aid by 2015. We must keep this promise!


Please click here to send an email to your local TDs urging them to use their influence to deliver on Ireland's aid promise (the email has already been written and there's even a map of Ireland on which you can click, which will list all the TDs in your constituency). It takes less than a minute to do - I promise!


0.7% is not just a number - it's children in our sponsorship programmes having access to schools and hospitals; it's decent healthcare for mothers and children; it's people living their lives with hope and dignity.


As Irish people, we have always been proud of our reputation for being generous and compassionate to those less fortunate. Please join the ActNow2015 campaign and let your local TDs know that you care about saving the world's poorest and most vulnerable people from further hardship.


Together we can be the first generation to end extreme poverty but we have to act now.

Thank you!

Yours sincerely

Helen Keogh
CEO World Vision Ireland

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CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Dear Act Now Supporter,

Since we launched the email campaign two weeks ago, over 100 people have sent emails to their TDs through the Act Now website. We need to increase this number considerably between now and next month's MDG Summit. To achieve this, we are asking you to -

1. Go to http://actnow2015.ie/action/current/ and send an email to your TDs.
2. Email your organisation's staff and supporters, and ask them to do the same.
3. Include the email campaign in any newsletters or bulletins sent to supporters and donors.
4. Put a link to http://actnow2015.ie/ on your website, and in a Facebook status update.
5. Encourage your supporters to join the Act Now Facebook page - www.facebook.com/actnow2015.ie
6. Organise an event on 10 August - TD Tuesday. See details below.

The campaign is now supported by over 70 organisations - between us we can send 5000 letters to TDs by the end of this month.

Best,
James O'Brien

10 August is TD Tuesday


Dear colleagues,

I am asking you, as a member organisation of Act Now on 2015, to organise a "TD Tuesday" for your staff and Board members.

It is imperative that we turn the widespread, but latent, support for overseas aid into actual political pressure to protect the aid budget.

Only if we can mobilise the people who support the campaign's member organisations can we hope to have any influence in this time of budget cuts.

Please ensure that you have encouraged your staff and Board members to write to their local TDs. The best time to do so, is next Tuesday, 10 August, or "TD Tuesday".

Simply take 30 minutes during the day in which all your colleagues can log onto www.ActNow2015.ie and send an email to their local TD. You can also ask them to write their own letter in hard copy).

The emails are most effective when they are personalised, you please encourage your staff to edit the email on the website.

Please do it, and do it now: we need to ACT NOW!


Thank you,

Hans Zomer