Let’s continue in
the spirit of RAP, and come together to keep it going! Some simple ways
you can help are:
“Letters to
Leaders” – Write a letter or
send an email to Governor Abercrombie and/or your local representative,
urging them to allocate funds to RAA. Click here for more
information.
Become a “FAN” on
Facebook - Click
to visit Read Aloud America’s Facebook page. Encourage your
friends and family to do the same. The more “fans,” the better!
Make
your voice heard! - Get
together with your neighbors and tell our leaders how important RAP is to
Hawai‘i. Make “SAVE RAP” signs to stick in your yard or spray-paint a
“SAVE RAP” sheet to hang in a visible spot; ask your local schools and
businesses to hang “SAVE RAP” signs along fences or in their windows;
call the radio or a TV station and urge them to spotlight RAP and its
importance in the community; write to local newspapers and tell your
story about what RAP means to you.
Design your own
signs, or click here
to print out a sign from RAA.
While we are mindful of the threat this funding cut poses to RAP, we
are confident that our supporters will come forward to ensure RAA/RAP is
here for years to come. You have helped build RAP into what it is today,
creating a fervent energy that has spread from Kipapa, Kauai, to Hilo,
Hawai‘i. Thank you for your support, and please call our central office
at (808) 531-1985 for questions or comments.
Tell Hawaii’s leaders to help us save RAP!
You can help save RAP is by writing a letter or sending an email to
our legislators. Your messages will make it clear that RAP is critical to
Hawaii’s community. Here are some suggestions for how to create an
effective letter:
1. Explain that you are writing to help save Read Aloud America’s
Read Aloud Program (RAP) and urge them to allocate funds to RAA.
2. Write from your heart. In your own words, describe what RAP
means to you and why you think it is important. You can: write about
a personal experience you had at RAP; describe the energy that people
experience when they come to RAP; explain ways RAP has transformed
your family’s life or your child’s experience in school.
3. Explain why you think cutting RAP’s funding is bad for Hawaii’s
communities.
4. Close by urging them to allocate funds to RAP and thanking them for
their attention.
Address your letter to the appropriate address below, or follow the
links for email addresses. Stick a 44¢ stamp on your letters. Our
research shows that personally addressed and stamped envelopes are read
most out of all communication government officials receive.
Be persistent! Follow up with an email two weeks later, and then with
a phone call two weeks after that. Or, keep writing letters and email
messages – repeated communication emphasizes the critical need for RAP in
the community!
U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka
141 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
Phone: (202) 224-6361
Fax: (202) 224-2126
akaka.senate.gov/emailsenator-akaka.cfm
U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye
722 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
Phone: (202) 224-3934
Fax: (202) 224-6747
http://inouye.senate.gov
U.S. Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa
238 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2726
Fax: (202) 225-0688
http://hanabusa.house.gov
U.S. Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono
1410 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone:(202) 225-4906
Fax:(202) 225-4987
http://hirono.house.gov/
The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor
State of Hawai`i
Executive Chambers
415 S. Beretania St.
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
Phone: (808) 586-0034
Fax: (808) 586-0006
http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact
State Legislators’ address:
[Insert Name]
415 S. Beretania St.
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
To find out who your state legislator is, click
here and provide the necessary information.
