Freedom from Toxic Fracking Waste: National Rally Day
To all Rally Coordinators:
Hopefully, you have received Update 2. If not, would you please let us know via e-mail to [email protected] and we will e-mail it to you?
It is very important that everyone has their permits or letters as described in the "getting permits" section of Update 2.
There are some posters at the following URL that you can use for your rally, if you so choose.
http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/posters.html
Or, you might want to create your own - either by hand or by using your computer. These examples on the site can serve as guidelines.
Some coordinators may want some suggestions about how to make signs. There are a number of ways to do this.
You can print the poster from the Frackfree America National Coalition "poster page" and take the printed copy to Kinko's (Fedex Kinko’s) or another copy center to have it enlarged to a 20" by 30" poster size. (It may cost about $4.50 to enlarge it in black and white.) Then you can staple the enlarged copy to a poster board that you can get at almost any place where they have office supplies.
You can make your sign using markers and making large bold letters. You can punch holes and use a rope or twine to wear it around your neck -- (Please see Update 2 for more information on signs and posters) After you punch holes in the poster board, you thread the rope or twine through and make knots to hold the rope in place. Or, of course, you could just hold your sign.
PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SIGNS CAN BE SEEN FROM A DISTANCE, THAT IS, BIG BOLD LETTERS AND NOT TOO MANY WORDS. AND MAKE SURE YOUR MESSAGE IS BRIEF AND CAN BE GRASPED BY ANYONE QUICKLY. IF YOU GET YOUR SIGN ON TV, YOU WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR MESSAGE IN THE BRIEF TIME IT MIGHT BE SHOWN ON THE AIR.
Banners - Please see Update 2 for more info on making banners. Of course, if you want to invest the money, you can have them professionally made. To make them yourself, you can get long paper from a doctor's office (the paper they use for examining tables) if they will donate it to you. Or, you can buy long paper from an office supply store like Staples, Office Max, Home Depot, etc. Banners are great if you don't have very many protestors. The banner can be about 9 to 10 feet long. Have one person hold it on each end, and one person in the middle. You don't need to affix sticks to hold it. Each person can just hold the paper. Use markers and make your words huge so everyone can read the sign in a few seconds.
We recently provided Update 3, the "recruiting flyer." You can print the flyer and add your contact information, time of your local event (remember to designate AM or PM), place of local event, etc.
**Important: Please remember to always get permission before posting the recruiting flyer in libraries, groceries stores, etc.
** Some coordinators may have created their own flyers to use. Here are a few tips from what other coordinators in the past have done in regard to flyers. One woman went door to door with her flyer. She had a really positive response from almost everyone! Some coordinators may want to take out inexpensive ads. This might be an idea for the next national rally since we are so close now to September 12. (Some community weekly newspapers or "pennysavers" might be appropriate for this if you want to go this route.) The flyer could serve as a sort of guideline if you want to do this. You'll want to get permission from stores or libraries (or wherever you're posting) before you post your flyer. Places to post them include grocery stores, anywhere people wait and get bored, by elevators, men's rooms, women's rooms, public library bulletin boards, universities, etc. How you want to use the flyer is up to you, but here are some suggestions for your consideration:
Get permission to post the flier in grocery stores, public libraries, by elevators, in places of worship, community centers, sports areas, truck stops, senior citizen centers, sporting stores, universities, waiting areas in doctors' offices, bowling alleys, book stores, etc.
E-mail or fax the 1 page flyer (please call them for their permission to fax or e-mail the flyer to them) to people or groups who you think might want to get involved in your community. Look in the blue pages of your phone book for ideas, addresses, or phone numbers for religious groups, humanitarian organizations, civil rights groups, parents groups, environmental groups, Grandparents groups, etc. Optional: You might want to take out an inexpensive ad in a community newspaper or penny saver.
Please keep letters on your signs and banners very large and bold, and message brief, so they can be seen in a TV report or by passersby. Sometimes a simple bold, black lettering on a white background can be very visible.
If you have any tips or suggestions for other coordinators - maybe something you have done that is working well - please e-mail them to us. We will share some of the ideas in future national rallies currently being planned.
Let's keep the positive momentum going. Please spread the word and help protect our families. We can do this if we all work together. It is very heartwarming and inspiring to hear what you are doing to make this National Rally Day a success. As always.......a heartfelt thank you for your noble efforts!