Dear EDC Advocates,
With EDC National Fall Lobby Day and the 2nd Annual
M.O.M. March fast approaching, we wanted to address the cost of coming to
Washington, DC.
We know that it can be expensive to travel to DC and we know
that many advocates struggle to come up with funding for their trip to
EDC National Lobby Day. We very much
empathize with you. Therefore, we want to offer you the encouragement that there are some
simple things to do that might help you make your trip to DC possible, as well as
the most cost-effective:
- consider making an
"EDC National Lobby Day Fund" jar and depositing a set amount (or
loose change) every week
- consider swapping
out things like a daily coffee/tea purchase for a deposit into your "EDC
National Lobby Day Fund" jar
- start asking for
donations (monetary, frequent flyer miles, etc.) from family members
- some advocates
have made GoFundMe pages to support their trip to EDC National Lobby Day
- connect with
friends to share a hotel room
- connect with
friends to share hotel-alternatives like a hostel or Air BnB*
- consider
car-pooling if you're driving to DC
- start looking for
flights today --save your search and get fare updates
- consider staying
outside the district of DC and using the Metro to get to Capitol Hill
Those are just a few ways that might help you save for a
trip to DC so you can join us for EDC National Lobby Day. If you have other suggestions, please comment
on our blog or on our FB page!
Of course, we also know that not everyone has "loose
change" to spare --eating disorders can wreak havoc on finances; we know,
we've been there. We also know that not
everyone can take time off from treatment (whether your own or the treatment of
a loved one), time off from work, or time away from family. We simply want to encourage you with this blog
post that if you are able to come to EDC National Lobby Day and the M.O.M.
March this fall, there are things you can do to help save up for your trip and
make your trip a bit more cost-effective.
Because we know the cost of coming to DC, we promise you to always keep registration fees as low as
possible --please know that the EDC does not 'turn a profit' on Lobby Day...your
registration fee goes to cover the cost of hosting Lobby Day and that's all.
We also promise you that if you cannot attend EDC National Lobby Day in
person, we will continue to offer ways to get involved from afar. But to that end, we do highly encourage you
to do everything that you can do (that which is wise and healthy for you), so
that you can come to Lobby Day. We
continue to hear from advocates --whether after their 1st or 20th time advocating
with us-- that EDC National Lobby Day is one of "the best experiences"
they've ever had. We want YOU to have a
chance to have that experience and we hope that you will be able to find a way
to join us this October 27 - 28th as we storm Capitol Hill with our voices,
stories, united message and our constituency-based influence.
Our voices make a difference, your voice
makes a difference and #TheTimeIsNow to pass the #AnnaWestinAct into #AnnasLaw. We hope to see you soon.
Our work together continues, ~the EDC
