GFWC/Ohio Federation of
Women's Clubs
Legislation / Public
Policy
Chairman: Pat Freeland
MEMBER: Susan Abdulla MEMBER: Pat McElroy
Public
Policy
Engaging, Educating,
Mobilizing
The purpose of
the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs Public Policy and Advocacy programs
is to engage, educate and mobilize club women as advocates for the federation’s
public policy priorities. Club women are
challenged to facilitate GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs impact on public
policy at the local, state and national levels by becoming better informed
advocates willing and able to make a difference.
GFWC/Ohio
Federation of Women's Clubs and members have the opportunity to impact public
policy by becoming informed and involved.
Encourage members to participate in civic presentations and to research
resolutions, bills and laws.
GOALS:
1.
Legislation
Day meetings are to be legislative/educational issues by having speakers,
panels or other media presentations on legislative issues pertaining to the
district, state and nation.
2.
Sponsor
candidate’s night prior to an election in order to inform the members and
public of pertinent issues of the candidates running for public offices.
3.
Write
or call local, district, state and national government representatives with
your questions, thoughts, both pro and con, on the issues and take action to
make your voice heard.
4.
Become
familiar with GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs resolutions and send
letters to the appropriate organizations, companies, representatives and
lawmakers bringing to their attention the fact that your organization endorses
the resolution.
5.
Inform
and education club women on the process, policies and issues that make writing
resolutions easy and effective.
6.
Learn
the functions of all levels of government, officials and laws.
IDEAS FOR PROGRAMING
Consider having
programs on one or more of the following: Women’s health issues, Social
Security, Long Term Care, Safety Issues, Identity Theft, Elder Abuse, Child
Abuse, Educational Systems and Funding, Internet Predators, Immigration laws,
Truth in Lending Acts, Domestic Violence and Inequality against women, the
lists of today’s concerns are endless.
Resolutions
GOALS:
1.
To
raise awareness of the problems facing our citizens and how to impact it with
resolution and informed programming of issues.
2.
To
facilitate the writing of resolutions by supplying assistance in the form and
subject matter.
3.
To
increase the number of resolutions submitted to GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's
Clubs and GFWC.
Whereas, The
GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs encourages active participation in public
affairs; and
Whereas,
Legislative positions taken by the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs must
be based on accurate information and a consensus of the members; therefore
Resolved, That the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs actively
encourage its member clubs to submit relevant resolutions for consideration by
the membership.
A resolution is
a tool by which members can voice their opinions in an effort to influence or
develop the policies of the organization.
It must be germane to the work or interests of the Federation
members. Resolutions reflect the shared
beliefs of the membership and provide a framework for all public policy
initiatives. Resolutions determine the
form of all legislative action taken by the Federation.
In
Resolutions and
supporting materials must be sent to the Resolutions Chairman by November 15,
2008 and November 15, 2009. Only
Emergency Resolutions (which pertain to immediate situations) may be accepted
after November 15, 2008 / 2009.
Resolutions must be typed.
Supporting materials must be
submitted with the proposed resolution.
Resolutions must be submitted in
the following format:
a.
Title
– provides subject
b.
Whereas
– statement of fact
c.
Resolved
– states position and suggested action
d.
Submitted
by - ____________
e.
Club
____________________
JUDGING CRITERIA
25 Points for
Topic 25
Points for Following Format
25 Points for
How Well the Resolution is written 25
Points if club submitted more than one Resolution
Quoting from
Sarah Albert, the former GFWC Public Policy Director, in the April / May 2001
issue of the GFWC Clubwoman: “Resolutions are the backbone of all GFWC public
policy initiatives. They determine and
form the basis for all legislative action.
The policy positions reflect the organization’s consensus on issues of
national and international importance.
“…Only with a resolution ‘on the books’ can GFWC advocate for or against
an issue.” In the same way, clubs and
the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs rely on resolutions to describe the
consensus of the members on various issues.
Clubs cannot take an “official” position unless their members have
reached such a consensus.
RESOURCES:
·
Look
to Resolutions in the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs Directory for list
of resources on the federal level.
·
Website
for the state of
·
·
·
GFWC
Materials Center and GFWC Club Manual – PUBLIC POLICY and ADVOCACY Program,
1734 N Street NW; Washington, DC 20036 – 2990 materialscenter@gfwc.org
·
Library
of Congress –
“Thomas”
is maintained by the Library of Congress and provides information about all
pending federal legislation. This
comprehensive site includes bill details such as title, number, status,
description, text and co-sponsors. The
site also includes bills and laws from recent past congressional sessions.
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