How I became an advocate

What does it mean for me to be a “sixteen-year-old advocate”? In between school, choir rehearsals, and homework, I contact my members of Congress and raise awareness for issues like global health, protecting the environment, and human rights.

Lobbying in D.C. with two of my favorite teen advocates (I'm on the right)

I can’t really tell you how long I’ve been an advocate, because there isn’t a single moment of empowerment when this became part of my identity. I’m sharing my story here, though, so that other teens getting involved in advocacy can have this page as a resource and get ideas for what they want to do.

This story starts with my mom. She became a stay-at-home parent when I was born, but never stopped making a difference in issues she cared about, and she soon joined an organization called RESULTS. My mom has a blog called Anti-Poverty Mom where she talks about her experience advocating for the end of global poverty while also raising kids to take action. Even when I was just a toddler, she brought me along to meetings and taught me to write letters to Congress.

My mom (right) in a lobby meeting with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (left).
She's presenting handwritten letters from kids in her district, including me!

Today, the organization I’m most involved in is still RESULTS. We are a nonpartisan movement of everyday people who focus on ending poverty in the United States and around the world. By building relationships with members of Congress and their staff, we guide them towards decisions that save lives through health and education, no matter what their political party is or how long it takes. In RESULTS, we realize that each of us could individually volunteer or donate money, but together we can push our government to have a far greater impact.

My mom showed me that Congress is in charge of a lot of decisions, but they need advice from us. As I get older (and in some ways, more cynical), I still see the need for grassroots advocacy. It’s not a magical, speak-up-and-it-happens guarantee, but change does come people taking action together.

My sister and I, ages 5 and 7, with Senator Durbin and former Senator Kirk

For several years, I went to RESULTS meetings and sat in without participating very much. I wrote letters about the issues I could understand and care about, which were usually related to child health and education. Sometimes these “letters” were little-kid drawings, other times they were early attempts at sentences, but everyone has to start somewhere! For me, that starting point happened to be a lot earlier than it is for most advocates I know.

"Dear Mr. [Senator] Durbin, I think that you cat [?] think that I can do it"
My best guess is that this is for global education, based on the illustrations.

When I was nine years old, I was really lucky that my mom brought me with her to Washington D.C. for the first time. We went to the RESULTS international conference, where I saw hundreds of volunteers from around the world in one room, all fired up to learn how we can end poverty together. That experience showed me what advocacy really is-- not just a couple people making phone calls by ourselves, but a true movement of passionate people from so many different backgrounds working towards the same goal. The work we do is not just kind and helpful, but important and impactful.

I get frustrated with both political parties at times, don’t get me wrong, but members of Congress are actual people, and often there’s at least one issue we can agree on. If a representative has the exact opposite opinion on gun violence, our common ground may lie in preventing sex trafficking or the AIDS epidemic, so partnerships are still definitely possible.

Teens under 18 can’t vote, sadly. The best chance we have to make change often lies in working with who we’ve got. So, how does that work? How do everyday people, especially teenagers, have influence over the laws of our nation? It’s a question that’s becoming more relevant every day, and I hope that this blog will become a place to figure out some answers and paths forward.