Hometown Shakedown: All the details

We promise, all you need to set up and hold a successful meeting to get your Member of Congress to cosponsor the bill is a commitment to helping end this war. After signing up, it's a simple four-step process, and we'll help you every step of the way. With a small commitment of your time, you can play a significant role in seeing this historic legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

Here's the basic details:

• Who: You, and a few friends or other activists in your area.
• What: A meeting with your Member of Congress or their staff to request that they cosponsor the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.
• Where: In a local district office near you.
• When: Between November of 2009 and February of 2010.
• Why: Because we have one shot to get this bill passed, and this is the most proven method of making that happen!

Four steps to a successful "shake down" meeting:

With just a bit of your time, by following these four simple steps you can play a major role in getting this legislation passed and helping achieve lasting peace for northern Uganda.

• Step 1: Set up and prepare for your meeting

Soon after you sign up, we'll tell you who you'll be seeking to meet with, and where their closest office is located. You'll call the office to schedule a meeting with the Member of Congress or one of their staff. We'll alert people in your area of the meeting time and location, and send you a few minutes of reading to prepare.

• Step 2: Conduct your meeting 

Simply communicating that you are a constituent who cares about this issue is winning most of the battle. But we'll give you some pointers to help make your meeting as effective as possible. Most meetings only last 20 minutes, and are a piece of cake.

• Step 3: Follow-up

If you don’t follow up from a meeting, Members of Congress and their staff assume you aren’t actually paying attention. From our past experience, persistent follow-up by simply emailing the people you met with more than doubles the likelihood that they will respond to your request and sign on to the legislation.

• Step 4: Send a message to your local newspaper

When you tell a Congressional office that you plan to write a letter to a local newspaper about what they have or have not done to respond to this crisis, you can be sure they’re going to listen harder to what you say. Every Member of Congress receives a daily briefing that includes any mentions of them in the media. So we've drafted a short Letter to the Editor for you to send to your local newspaper.