Advocacy Action Steps
The goal of this page is to create a one-stop location for the Viterbo community to find outlets to advocate. Service takes many forms, especially when we can't serve in-person as easily. Advocacy is an important part of serving our community, especially when many of our local non-profits, already hurting for resources, have been hit hard through lost fundraising dollars, lost volunteers, and other barriers.
We hope the resources below provide you the tools to use your voice on behalf of the common good. We hope you are able to find outlets to share your perspectives in meaningful and intentional ways. We also hope advocating for causes, organizations, and issues you are passionate about provides space for contemplation and critical reflection.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or suggestions! Email communityengagement@viterbo.edu.
Find Your Cause: Click here to search the 170+ agencies in the La Crosse area that have profiles on our UGetConnected software. By clicking their Agency Page, you can learn about their mission, vision, and how they serve our community. This is a great tool to start finding non-profits that connect with your personal core values and to learn more bout the many service opportunities we have in the La Crosse area. The best advice we can give is to reflect on the experiences and identities that have shaped you before choosing an agency or cause that resonates with those values.
Find Your Representatives: While this isn't an all-inclusive list, the links below should help you find the correct representatives to direct your advocacy. Whether it's for a specific agency or cause, it's important for decision-makers at every level of government to hear the voices of their constituents. We have provided specific links below, but this is a good local resource that contains helpful information.
State-specific Legislature Resources
La Crosse Representatives for the State of Wisconsin: Assembly Representative Jill Billings & Senate Representative Brad Pfaff
La Crosse Representatives: County Supervisors, City Council Members, City Boards & Committees, Mayor, Neighborhood Associations. Viterbo is located mostly in District 8 for County & City Council representation.
Find Your Voice: The resources below include tips for writing advocacy letters (or emails), suggestions on how to structure your points, and links to find reliable sources to support your position. While the specific hosting websites vary, the content on each page can be helpful if you aren't sure how to frame your thoughts on any number of important issues.
Writing Guidelines
American Psychological Association - How to Write a Letter or Email
Gallaudet University - Advocacy Guidance
Youth Catalytics Public Policy Support
Breastfeeding Niagara - Community Action Advocacy
Resources
University of Minnesota - Strategies for Gathering Reliable Information
Washington and Jefferson - Finding Reliable Websites
LibGuides for Policy Research - Bullis School
Virtual/Distance-based Service
A resonating perspective right now is "Service takes many forms". Sometimes it looks like gathering together to serve. Sometimes it looks like doing the most good with the resources you have in isolation or from a distance. We hope Viterbo's core values continue to shine as we wrap up our unique year together. We hope we are able to answer the question "What is Ours to Do?" with a lens that positively impacts our spheres of influence. For those able, we hope these challenging times lead us to serve others in ways that resonate with our Franciscan roots, seeking out opportunities to serve from the heart.
This website will be used to house virtual, creative, and distance-based service project ideas. For advocacy resources, please click here. We encourage everyone to find ways to serve safely. Reach out to communityengagement@viterbo.edu with questions, opportunities to add to the website, or if you need help getting started!
Looking to do some good?
Step 1 - Are you in the La Crosse area? If so, please continue searching for opportunities on our UGetConnected software. Many agencies are hosting volunteers and others are posting in-kind or virtual-based projects. There are 200+ agencies listed in the software with direct contact information for you to coordinate any specific projects directly with them.
Step 2 - Find something you are passionate about: This is an opportunity for you to connect with an agency that has the same vision and supports the same causes you are invested in. Some may be in a better position to accept help, while some might be focusing more on the people they serve on the front lines. Find causes that connect to your core values AND solve community issues through existing support organizations. Bottom line: Nothing will happen if we don't reach out and initiate!
Step 3 - Options to Pursue: Below are some ideas to get you started, but all will require follow up on your end. Think of this as a hands-on service project management opportunity answering the question "What is Ours to Do?" While all of these may not apply to every agency, this should be a good base to get your creative juices flowing!
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Local Online/In-Person Tutoring: supporting local children from home through educator-driven projects. Could also create video content (ex: Reading books, doing math problems, etc) that adults/educators could utilize at home.
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Advocacy Projects: research agency, create/implement advocacy plan for agency of choice based on agency needs. This could look like a social media awareness plan, a plan to advocate for policy changes to legislators, or even support grant-writing efforts to secure future resources.
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Letter/Electronic Socializing: Aimed at nursing home residents on lock-down, but could also extend to other populations/modes of communication (pen pals with students not in school, isolated prison populations, etc).
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General administrative support for agency-specific projects/tasks: connect directly with agencies and ask where their greatest needs are for electronic support.
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On-going fundraising campaign support: Many agencies have had to cancel their fundraisers, thus any type of fundraising support will likely be welcomed and could be supported from a distance (coordinated social medial exposure, cold-calling, mailings, etc)
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Assessment/evaluations of agency-specific programs/services: Many agencies are looking to better incorporate data/assessment into their programs. This could be an opportunity to help with that to better serve their guests, employees, community, or other stakeholders.
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Marketing/Event Promotion: Individual agencies always need support for ongoing events. Always try UGetConnected first!
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Creating in-kind donations (ex: sewing donations, blankets for local neighbors in need, etc) Reach out to see if an agency has any specific in-kind needs and coordinate a donation collection effort.
- Local Election Support: Supporting voting efforts (distance-based or in-person) wherever you are currently located, helping to solve many of the same issues our local non-profits are facing every day.
- Blood Drive Support: Several organizations project a blood shortage throughout the pandemic, so proactively engaging in this valuable nation-wide service could be beneficial.
Need additional support? Please email Colin at cgburnsgilbert@viterbo.edu to brainstorm options that may work for you and your situation! More resources are in the drop-down menu below.
Step 4 - Capture your impact: Utilize UGetConnected to enter hours for any service experiences or projects to track them on your service profile!
Anti-Racist Resources