With elections behind us and a new Administration taking office this month, there is change in the air. What a perfect opportunity to join us as we build relationships with the new Congress to influence policies affecting women and girls! Dining for Women’s partnership with RESULTS has helped us build new relationships and new skill sets which are changing the world for women and girls. Now is a great time to come on board and raise your voice.

As the 117^th Congress begins, we want to be right there guiding our representatives about issues that are important to achieving global gender equality. This year, these issues will include education and nutrition, both essential components for women and girls to succeed in life. We know this from our grantees’ stories and accomplishments. Through DFW’s Advocacy Chapter with RESULTS, you can impact how our government allocates dollars on a macro level to further support the work of our grantees.

In February, we will join the First 100 Days Campaign with RESULTS. We will connect you with other advocates in your state to meet with your members of congress (MOC) together and present our agenda and build enduring relationships. You will have a direct role in making the asks and telling the stories that support it. DFW members have the grantee stories that our MOC’s will remember.

This past year our Advocacy Chapter achieved more than we could have hoped for. There were more than 24 published letters to the editor and more than 38 congressional meetings in which DFW members participated. Most of us had never done either of these things, but with the support of our mentors we learned how. And often all it takes is for one constituent to develop a relationship with their MOC to get them to support our requests. Given the number of states and congressional districts in which DFW has a presence, we can do some very serious advocacy and create some serious impact.

If you would like to learn more about our Advocacy Chapter you can watch some of our past webinars here. You can also join us for our first webinar of 2021 on Tuesday, January 19^th at 7 PM ET or on Wednesday, January 20^th at 10 PM ET. To get the link for the webinars, please sign up here. This year, we hope to give both new and experienced advocates more options for learning by using Zoom breakout rooms and new advocate training sessions. And we welcome your suggestions for how we can make this work well for everyone.

I wish you each a New Year filled with peace and hope, a year in which we get closer to gender equality, and a year in which we can move beyond the overwhelming issues presented by the COVID pandemic. I look forward to having you join us on this journey.