Spring 2011
TECHNOLOGY

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Advocacy Toolkit Goes Online

New Stroke Advocacy Network Offers Help

By Joan Christensen

National Stroke Association takes pro-health advocacy to the next level with the recent launch of the Advocacy Toolkit, part of the Stroke Advocacy Network—a grassroots legislative advocacy program started in 2010. The Advocacy Toolkit is a powerful new resource loaded with information to help the first-time advocate. It is located at stroke.org/sankit and describes a variety of action items, both large and small, that can be used to reach and influence legislators. It’s designed to help people who are passionate about preventing and recovering from stroke become more effective stroke prevention and recovery supporters.

Nine different pages, including background information about how the legislative process works and a variety of resources and worksheets, can help you easily get involved. It also offers different strategies and ideas for finding and approaching lawmakers at the local, regional and national levels.

The section called  “8 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference,”  provides several simple suggestions for getting started. For example you can:

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Vote for issues and candidates that support 
stroke legislation.
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Share your story with others to create better awareness about prevention and recovery.
• Participate in or help organize fundraising efforts.
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Make a donation to National Stroke Association so they can keep providing educational programs and materials as well as survivor and caregiver support.

To gain confidence when discussing the most up-to-date facts about strokes, the Advocacy Toolkit also provides a variety of fact sheets with information about prevention, risk reduction and recovery.

Make an Even Bigger Commitment to Stroke Policy Advocacy

The Advocacy Toolkit at stroke.org/sankit offers a complete set of documents to help you get more deeply involved in the legislative process. Learn how to:

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Develop and share your personal story with legislators.
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Use 10 handy tips for communicating effectively with lawmakers.
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Download the step-by-step tactics to use when calling, writing or visiting to a representative.
• Host a site visit for legislators.

“Our goal is to help stroke survivors and their caregivers become effective and influential advocates by creating a step-by-step resource to guide them through the action steps they can take,”  explained Jim Baranski, CEO of National Stroke Association.  “We spent months working on the content to get the core pieces into an easy-to-use format. We intend to continue enhancing the Advocacy Toolkit with more advanced recommendations in the future.”

The Advocacy Toolkit helps you connect and begin to take action that can help improve the care and quality of life for stroke survivors throughout the U.S.

Getting involved and lending a helping hand can make a difference. Participating and contributing to the legislative process allows concerned survivors, caregivers and health-conscious individuals to become part of the solution that brings meaningful change and better support and services to stroke survivors and the people who help care for them.

In the big picture, actively engaging today in a network that supports stroke survivors is a vital first step along a road that will eventually lead to reducing the risk and consequences of stroke for future generations.

Joan Christensen has an MS in health education from the University of Utah and is a freelance writer based in Winter Park, Colo.