How to Organize a CSMG District Visit in Your Diocese

Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG) District Visits are meetings set up by Catholic social ministry leaders with U.S. Senators and Representatives, or their staffs, in their district offices following CSMG.  CSMG District Visits provide a way for Catholic social ministry leaders, in coordination with CSMG state captains, to connect the efforts of national colleagues with the local voice of partner organizations, parishioners, and dedicated volunteers in support of CSMG 2012's legislative priorities:

• Protecting assistance for poor and vulnerable families in the United States.
• Protecting poverty-focused international assistance.

Getting Started

Find out if a CSMG district visit is already being organized in your diocese by contacting Samantha Roach of Catholic Relief Services at samantha.roach@crs.org or 1-866-608-5978. If no district visit is yet scheduled, you may be asked to coordinate with your state captain (if one exists) or to serve as your diocesan district visit captain.

Coordinating your CSMG District Visits Team

Now that you've agreed to serve as your diocesan captain, make sure that you know who else in your diocese has agreed to participate in CSMG district visits. Samantha Roach of Catholic Relief Services will be able to share that information with you. Her e-mail address is samantha.roach@crs.org or call 1-866-608-5978.

Get in touch with your team members to discuss plans for your district visits, brainstorm ideas and decide on what type of district visit you would like to pursue. Identify dates and times that would work for all or most of your district visits team members.

Options for District Visits

Hosting a site visit for members of Congress is an excellent way to showcase the work that your diocese is doing in the area of social ministry. Consider inviting your members of Congress to visit a CCHD-funded anti-poverty group, a diocesan-supported homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or immigration and anti-human trafficking program. These site visits can bring to life the issues for which CSMG district visits participants are advocating and highlight how members of Congress can make a concrete difference in the lives of poor and vulnerable people in our communities.

If a site visit is not possible, meeting with your members of Congress or their district directors in their district office closest to you is another great option.  Visit this USCCB Capwiz Action Center and enter your zip code to find your Senators and your Representative. Click on the "Info" link under your members' photos and then click on the "Contact" tab at the top of the page. Your members' district offices will appear listed here.

If you're still unsure of who your member is or how to find their district office, please contact Samantha Roach of Catholic Relief Services at samantha.roach@crs.orgor 1-866-608-5978.

Planning a Site Visit

Before coordinating a diocesan site visit, make sure you are aware of applicable site visit policies and meet with affected staff, partners and beneficiaries to discuss what the site visit should accomplish.  Share with them the CSMG advocacy messages you will be delivering. Create an agenda for the visit to ensure that the member will see your work in action.

Scheduling a District Visit

Arrange a district office or site visit when your member of Congress is home in his or her district. Members of Congress are usually in their home districts Friday through Monday as well as during recesses such as the week immediately following CSMG, February 20-24, 2012.

Contact the district scheduler for your member of Congress several weeks in advance of the proposed visit. Explain who you represent, why you're seeking a visit with the member of Congress and what the CSMG advocacy issues are. Include specific information such as proposed date, time, location, others who may be invited (including media if you are seeking a site visit), and what activities are planned for the visit.  Be prepared to be as flexible as possible with your schedule to accommodate the member.Once a visit is scheduled, please communicate the details to Samantha Roach of Catholic Relief Services at samantha.roach@crs.orgor 1-866-608-5978.

Alerting the Media to an Upcoming District Visit

Site visits will be most effective if you reach out to the media in cooperation with the press secretary or communications director for your member of Congress, as well as the staff at the intended site.  Invite local and diocesan media outlets, including TV, newspapers, and radio stations to cover the event.  Send a media advisory or press release to local and diocesan media outlets alerting them to the time, date and purpose of the site visit. If the media is unable to be present, take pictures and include them with a summary of the activities that can be sent to local and diocesan media outlets afterwards.

How to Conduct a District Visit

• Introduce yourself, your organization and those involved in the site or district office visit.
• Present the CSMG advocacy issues and explain their connection to the site visit or their connection to those participating in the district office visit. Allow each member of your district visits team time to explain their personal connection to the CSMG advocacy issue.
• If questions arise that you're unable to answer or if the meeting gets off track, remain positive and follow up with more information later.

Important Steps After A District Visit

• Send a thank you letter, including any photos and media stories to the members of Congress you met with.
• In the letter recap the highlights of your visit and restate the CSMG advocacy messages with the specific request that your members of Congress endorse the CSMG positions.
• Use this reporting form to report news from your District Visit to CSMG staff.  This is an important final step in making sure District Visits are effective, coordinated, and hopefully continuing from year to year.

Resource Materials for District Visits

• The CSMG 2012 District Visits brochure is a handy way to invite others to participate in this effort.
• The USCCB web site provides useful general tips concerning Visiting Your Congressional Representative.
• Though designed for CSMG's advocacy efforts in Washington D.C., the CSMG Hill Visit 101 webinar provides helpful tips on legislative advocacy visits in general.
• The State Captains Introduction webinar updates some information in the CSMG Hill Visits 101 webinar and includes notes pages that provide a brief overview of important details.
• Copies of Global Solidarity in Action: A Guide for International Issue Advocacy in the United States are available at no cost from Catholic Relief Services at 1-866-608-5978.
• Printed copies of the U.S. Bishops' statement Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (reissued in 2011) are available through USCCB Publishing by phoning 1-800-235-8722.
  
• Templates for District Visits media advisories and press releases. 
  

• ADDITIONAL MATERIALS MAY BE ADDED HERE OCCASIONALLY, SO PLEASE CHECK BACK.

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