Your leadership, plus thirty seconds, can help the world's poor.

Hello! I’m Renee, and I serve as the Borgen Project’s Regional Director for Maryland’s 7th Congressional District.  The Borgen Project (www.borgenproject.org), which works to improve conditions for people living in severe poverty, looks to local individuals to help the world’s neediest individuals.

Do you have thirty seconds to spare per week? Did you know that you can use those 30 seconds to help the world's poor? Every week, our congressional representatives tally up the calls, emails, and other correspondence to see how their voters feel about certain pieces of legislation or other issues; this tally (one hopes!) helps them to tailor their vote to reflect the perspective of those in their district. Right now you can help express your interest in alleviating the suffering of those without sustainable access to clean water and sanitation by calling Senators Cardin and Mikulski and thanking them for their support of Senate Bill 641, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2011.  Both of our senators are currently cosponsoring this bill. To learn more about this bill, please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SN00641:@@@L&summ2=m&. 

By calling your congressional leaders, you can help let them know that their leadership on global poverty issues is supported by their citizenry. Right now, you can take 30 seconds to call Senator Cardin and ask him to help forward S.641. As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to which this bill was referred, he is in an excellent position to help get this worthwhile bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote. If you have an extra 30 seconds to spare, you can also call Senator Mikulski and let her know that you are grateful for her support, also. 

If you are a wordsmith and would rather craft a message of support for this legislation—and for humanitarian aid in general—you can write to these Senators using their online contact forms. For Senator Mikulski, go to: http://congress.org/congressorg/mail/?id=287&lvl=C&chamber=S.  For Senator Cardin, visit: http://congress.org/congressorg/mail/?id=290&lvl=C&chamber=S.  Select the radio button for “Compose Your Own Letter.”  You might wish to select “Foreign Policy” as your issue area for this particular piece of legislation.  Be sure to note the bill number, 641, in the subject line for easy identification by the Senators’ staffers. 

Whether by phone or internet (or both!), your support for this bill, and for the world’s poor, means a great deal.  Thank you!

If you should have any questions about the Water for the World Act, about how you can help with global poverty issues, or to learn more about the Borgen Project, you may send me an email at borgenprojectmd7th@gmail.com.  I also have a Twitter account: http://twitter.com/causesbella where you can get updates about this bill and learn more about global poverty issues in general.

From your own home, with just a few seconds, you can help support those in most need around the world.  This is exciting!