Raising UU Values in the Nation’s Capital

Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) amplifies UU values and voices from across the nation by bringing critical social justice issues to the attention of federal policymakers. 

Our UU values call us to be informed, engaged, and vocal advocates that speak truth to power. The UUSJ Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps provides a national UU presence with monthly (virtual during the pandemic) visits to Congress. UUSJ mobilizes for advocacy and witness events and educates people on priority issues, showcases model programs, and best practices. UUSJ is a 501c3 organization. 

Sign up to learn more about UUSJ, to get involved, for our monthly eNEWS, Write Here! Write Now! issue briefings, and priority issue mailing lists. Have a skill or issue expertise to share? Let’s talk. Please let us know how you would like to engage to advance our UU values at the federal level.Sign up HERE. 

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UUSJ Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps

UUSJ’s Advocacy Corps makes regular monthly visits to Capitol Hill. During the pandemic we make virtual visits and still arrange for your Write Here! Write Now! letters to be delivered to key Hill staff. Interested in supporting the Advocacy Corps or becoming a member of the support team? For further information, contact Lavona at advocacy@uusj.org.

• UUSJ & Advocacy Corps Information Flyer
• Monthly Issue Briefings & Letter-Writing Event – Sign-Up to be Notified

Virtual Advocacy

Effective advocacy is essential at all times, particularly during these trying times. Although Covid-19 may have changed how our advocacy looks, communicating with elected officials and key decision-makers is essential UUSJ has developed ways to actively advocate on a virtual basis.

• Storytelling for Advocacy Workshop Saturday, July 11, 2020, 1-4pmET 
  • Flyer
• Act Now: Current Action Alert, Secure our Vote! and Support the US Postal Service
• Visit our Advocacy page with advocacy resources, how to conduct a meeting, Members of Congress Twitter and Facebook accounts, Capitol Hill Switchboard number, Congressional research resources, Hill-specific publications, and more. You also find all our Write Here! Write Now! Handouts, and Action Alerts.

Write Here! Write Now! (WHWN)

UUSJ’s nationwide letter-writing campaign provides you and your congregation with all you need to know to be able to launch an effective letter-writing campaign to communicate with opinion leaders and policy-makers to advocate for positive change, or to express a point of view on public issues facing your community, state or our nation. The opportunity to write personal letters (not form letters) will let public officials and policy-makers know how our faith and values compel us to seek a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. Make letter-writing a spiritual practice! Sign up to learn more and to be notified of our next WHWN information session. 

• Write Here! Write Now! FAQ – Let’s stay together after GA
• Sign-Up for the WHWN Letter-Writing Toolkit – a how to guide to organizing letter-writing events.
• Here’s a Sample of a WHWN Handout – sent to partners for WHWN letter-writing topics. We are now offering monthly briefings on the topic too in preparation for your letter-writing event.

What happens once you write your letters? The UUSJ’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps delivers your letters to key staff along with the UUSJ “leave behind letter.” Capitol Hill is still closed to visitors due to the pandemic. But the Advocacy Corps is still on the move… we arrange for your letters to go to key staff members, and we will help arrange a virtual visit with staff for up to four of your WHWN team members for our partner congregations.

Since February 14, 2017 the Advocacy Corps has delivered more than 10,000 of your letters we made more than 2,090 visits to offices, and conducting more than 432 meetings with staff and members of Congress. In the picture above, after a meeting with two staff members from Sen. Markey’s office three Advocacy Corps members hand over the letters from UU constituents from Massachusetts.

Become a Write Here! Write Now! partner congregational and join with more than 20 congregations across the country that participate in the program. We provide you with the tools and coaching you need to launch your congregational WHWN letter-writing program. 

UU’s Mobilizing for the 2020 Election

UUSJ is working with the Unitarian Universalist Association, congregations, and partner organizations to register voters, offer resources for reflection on justice issues, and encourage robust participation in the 2020 elections. UUSJ has several guides to help your congregation become involved in this nationwide UU campaign with step-by-step information and resources.

• 2020 Mobilizing for the 2020 Elections
• UUSJ Vote Mobilization Guide
• UUSJ 2020 Leaders Guide
• UUSJ’s Guide to UU Questions for Candidates 2020: Getting Candidates on the Record – How-to information on bird-dogging candidates, town hall meetings, speaking at a candidates’ forums, writing letters to the editor, questions for candidates, and more…
• “Ask Your College” is a growing, nonpartisan volunteer campaign to urge colleges and universities to empower every eligible student to vote. Co-sponsored by UUSJ.

Our September 2019 Economic and Climate Justice Conference

UUs for Social Justice (UUSJ) and UUJEC  (and other UU organizations) cooperated to host a national conference “Advancing Climate and Economic Justice as a Moral Issue, Building a Movement for a Green New Deal” in Washington, DC. There are links to speakers that were recorded–so it’s almost like being there. After a day of education, UUSJ trained attendees and on Tuesday, the attendees joined UUSJ’s Action Corps to deliver over 920 constituent letters written by UUs across the nation. With the help of UU Funding Program, we were able to pay scholarships to all who requested them.