Ambassador BriefingMay 13, 2015

Welcome!

Laura Keivel Manager of Grassroots Advocacy

Thank you for joining the call and participating in the Ambassador

Program!

Agenda• Social Media Presentation

• Walk to Cure Arthritis Update

• State and Federal Updates

• May Activity

• Housekeeping

Social Media and

Advocacy

Social Media and Advocacy

Morgan Griffith Senior Director, Web and Interactive Strategy

Sample Arthritis Awareness Month Messaging - Twitter:

• ~300,000 babies, kids & teens have #arthritis or a rheumatic condition? http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/ #ArthritisAwarenessMonth

• Arthritis & related conditions account for $156+ billion annually in lost wages & expenses http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/ #ArthritisAwarenessMonth

• .@insertrepnamehere in honor of #ArthritisAwarenessMonth, please support the #arthritis community by joining the Arthritis Caucus!

• .@insertrepnamehere there are 50 million+ reasons to join the #Arthritis Caucus, we need your help! http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/

Sample Arthritis Awareness Month Messaging -

Facebook:• May is National Arthritis Awareness Month! 1 in every 5 adults, 300,000 children & countless families are affected by arthritis. It accounts of $156 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses. http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/

• @RepNameHere May is National Arthritis Awareness Month and we need your help! 1 in every 5 adults, 300,000 children & countless families are affected by arthritis. It accounts of $156 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses. Please support the arthritis community by joining the Arthritis Caucus!

Sample Arthritis Awareness Month Imagery to Share:

Will be posted/available at: http://www2.arthritis.org/advocatelaunchtoolkit

Social MediaWhy is social media and advocacy

important?• Great way to share your story and raise

awareness• Strength in numbers

– 30 comments– 10 comments

• Ability to have a conversation with constituents• Facebook is #1, Twitter #2, Instagram #3 with

members of Congress• Ability for anything to go viral

Social MediaHow to engage on social media:1. Post a picture and tag your elected officials2. Make it relevant! Photos at Walk to Cure

Arthritis, at the state capitol, Jingle Bell Run, at the doctor, show them your YES!

3. Use the Arthritis Foundation Advocacy hashtag to interact with other advocates #AdvocateforArthritis

4. Tag your friends!

Social media is not only fun, but an important way to communicate

Questions?

Hit #6 to unmute your line

Walk to Cure

Arthritis Update

• Over 200 Advocates signed up so far• Over 100 note cards completed

We Need More Help!Two Options:

Option 1• Invite your Representative to your local Walk to Cure Arthritis• Collect note cards from WTCA attendees• Deliver note cards to appropriate Representative (if they do not attend

WTCA) and send the names and contact info to AF staffOption 2• Collect 5 notecards from your friends and family (yourself included!)• Deliver or mail them to the appropriate Representative and send the

names and contact info to AF staff

Walk to Cure Arthritis Update

State and Federal Updates

Mark Guimond, Director of State Legislative Affairs

Success in GeorgiaGeorgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill allowing

interchangeable biologic products making medication more accessible for people in Georgia

Thank you to Ambassador Kerry Tucker for testifying!

Success in TennesseeBiosimilar law passed – thank you

Ambassadors!

New Caucus Members81 members of the Arthritis Caucus – 45 to

go!• Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)• Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA)• Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)• Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)• Rep. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)• Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY)• Rep. David Jolly (R-FL)• Rep. Swalwell (D-CA)• Rep. Pitts (R-PA)• Rep. Franks (R-AZ)

Please be sure to thank your member if they are a new member of the Caucus!

If your Members of Congress are not members of the Caucus, please ask them

to join!

Patients’ Access to Treatments Act Update

• 70 cosponsors as of 5/12/15• 57 Democrat and 13 Republican

Please ask your Representative to cosponsor the legislation!

H.R. 1859

Ensuring Children’s Access to Specialty Care Act of 2015

• Introduced by Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) on April 16

• Address the shortage of pediatric rheumatologists• 1 cosponsor so far• We are working with coalitions on the bill and we’ll

keep you updated

Questions?

Hit #6 to unmute your line

May Ambassador

Activity

May is Arthritis Month

May is a time to educate your elected officials about arthritis and the impact is has on your life.

May Ambassador Activity

First Option• Use social media to raise awareness about

Arthritis Month• You can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,

etc.• Please have a minimum of 5 postings total

(not per platform)• Report the dates of your postings in the

Reporting Center

Sample MessagesFacebook and Instagram• May is National Arthritis Awareness Month! 1 in every 5

adults, 300,000 children & countless families are affected by arthritis. It accounts of $156 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses. http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/

• @RepNameHere May is National Arthritis Awareness Month and we need your help! 1 in every 5 adults, 300,000 children & countless families are affected by arthritis. It accounts of $156 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses. Please support the arthritis community by joining the Arthritis Caucus!

Feel free to use the imagery from Morgan – will be placed on the Ambassador webpage

Sample MessagesTwitter – limit 140 charactes• ~300,000 babies, kids & teens have #arthritis or a

rheumatic condition? http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/ #ArthritisAwarenessMonth

• Arthritis & related conditions account for $156+ billion annually in lost wages & expenses http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/ #ArthritisAwarenessMonth

• .@insertrepnamehere in honor of #ArthritisAwarenessMonth, please support the #arthritis community by joining the Arthritis Caucus!

• .@insertrepnamehere there are 50 million+ reasons to join the #Arthritis Caucus, we need your help! http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/

May Ambassador ActivitySecond OptionSend your governor a letter about Arthritis Month and the impact arthritis has on your state• Sample letter and arthritis prevalence data are

available on the Ambassador webpage• Please include a few sentences of your personal

story• The goal is to raise awareness of arthritis• Please contact Laura Keivel if you are unable to

locate your governor’s contact information • Report the date your sent the letter and

please let us know if you receive a response

Due Dates

• April’s Ambassador activity is due July 15

• May’s Ambassador activity is due June 1

Housekeeping

Website Updates

Due to website reconstruction, updates were currently

unavailable• Bonus assignments may be reported

on • Ambassador Commitment Form

available now and due July 15• Toolkit is posted• Recordings can be posted

July Ambassador Briefing

The next Ambassador Briefing is Wednesday, July 8th at 3:00 PM

Eastern

Our Signature EventAugust Recess Activity

Thank you for joining the briefing!

Please contact Laura Keivel for any questions

lkeivel@arthritis.org202-887-2913