Let’s #TalkPoverty at the Presidential Debates

Thank you for your interest in our recent webinar, “Let’s #TalkPoverty at the 2012 Debates.” On the webinar, we heard an insightful and inspiring media perspective on poverty coverage from Greg Kaufmann, contributor for the This Week in Poverty blog at the Nation. We also learned from Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters Education Fund, about the alarming rates of child poverty and the reasons we can, and should, turn it around. Finally, participants shared some great ideas about how they plan to take part in the campaign, and Erik Stegman, Manager of Half in Ten, shared resources and tools to help get everyone tweeting this year’s debate moderators! Click here to access a complete recording of the webinar.

We have four debates ahead of us and it’s more important than ever to ask our candidates what they will do in their first 100 days to reduce child poverty. Here are some next steps and resources to take part in the #TalkPoverty debate campaign.

Action Steps:

• Join the campaign! Go to halfinten.org/TalkPoverty to sign up for updates, join as a sponsoring organization, use our one-click tweets, share our video, and spread the word about the campaign.
• Organize an event in your community! Help raise awareness about child poverty and document it through photos and stories, then tweet about it through the campaign. Every Child Matters is holding several rallies and events in all the debate cities. Don’t forget to make #TalkPoverty signs and tweet your photos!
• Start tweeting! We’ve included some helpful resources below to get you get started. Think about what statistics, images, stories, and websites will help you tell the story of child poverty across the country and plug them into those #TalkPoverty tweets.
• Follow Half in Ten on Twitter @Halfinten for updates, favorite tweets from the campaign, and breaking news.
• Like Half in Ten and #TalkPoverty on Facebook and share your favorite stories and photos during the campaign.

Resources:

• Missed the webinar? Click here to access the slides and complete recording.
• Sign up for the campaign, see our video, use our tweets, and sign on as a supporting organization at halfinten.org/talkpoverty.
• New to Twitter? Check out Half in Ten’s Twitter 101.
• Pretty good at Twitter? Then, check out Half in Ten’s advanced Twitter 201 guide.
• Customize your tweets for the campaign with brand new local data from our interactive maps.
• Check out Greg’s work at This Week in Poverty on the Nation.
• Find out more about Every Child Matters’s work and their upcoming debate plans.
• Tell your story by contributing to our Road to Shared Prosperity story bank.

Thanks again for joining us for this webinar. Now, let’s get out there and #TalkPoverty during the debates!