How to Get Involved in Pace to the Capitol!
WOW! Hundreds of people have already registered for our Pace to the Capitol campaign. This is a huge moment for the ME community and we are so glad you are a part of it!
Our Pace to the Capitol campaign is building momentum around the crucial work that MEAction is doing this year with Congress, the Surgeon General's office, in Hollywood, with State Medicaid leaders and with the Library of Congress.
Get Involved! There are many ways that you can get involved during the campaign from now until May 12th. We’ve split the advocacy into the categories below to give you a broad overview of actions to come – from organizing a bed installation in your community to advocating before Congress and state medicaid leaders.
But first, make sure you register to receive all the emails with specific details about these upcoming campaign actions. Even if you don’t know if you will be getting involved from home or in person, you should register now and you can change it later!
How to Get Involved in Pace to the Capitol
Make ME Visible In Your Community
Mini beds: Display mini beds in public spaces in your community. (Each mini bed will have a QR code attached so people can learn more about ME.) Mini beds will be available for purchase before the end of the year and will come in Pace Packs.
Bed installations: Set up a bed installation in front of your state or city capitol or in another prominent public place to represent ME and Long COVID. North Carolina will set up the first bed installation on Nov. 3, and we will be sharing more ways to get involved following that event.
Set up a peer-to-peer fundraiser today to help make the campaign a success. Everyone who raises $150 or more automatically receives a Pace Pack that includes a t-shirt (you pick the size), mini beds, an advocate guide and swag! Use our email template to ask friends & family to donate.
Join Us in DC on May 12th
Join #MEAction in Washington, DC for a day on the hill! We will have 200 beds near the Capitol building. We will have a representative from the Surgeon General's Office and the Library of Congress. There will be options to attend hill meetings and educate the general public about the urgency of ME. Register here.
Advocate before Congress
MEAction has made major inroads in getting Congress to include funding for the ME/CFS Research Roadmap in its appropriations talks. We are still fighting to ensure funding for the roadmap gets added to the final Congressional budget. We will need community support to:
Share your stories with elected officials over zoom or at in-person meetings. We will keep you posted as this situation unfolds.
Join an email campaign to pressure elected officials to include appropriations for the roadmap in the Congressional budget. We will keep you posted as the need arises.
Protect Our Medicaid
We are involved in a multi-year fight to ensure the ME/CFS and Long COVID communities do not lose their Medicaid healthcare.
Read our most recent Frail and Furious campaign update, including ways to get involved here
Attend our Writing for Advocacy Workshop, to fuel Medicaid action this Fall, happening on Wednesday, November 18th at 2pm ET. More information on this event to come soon!
Engage the Surgeon General’s Office
We are collaborating with the Surgeon General's office to develop and disseminate ME/CFS educational materials. We will be asking our community to share materials MEAction develops with the Surgeon General’s office to health practitioners.
Additional Actions:
Take photos of minibeds from bed to share on social media
Share stories to be emailed after our Hollywood Storytelling Events
Attend the Library of Congress virtual event in December
Share the May 12th livestream from home
Write an op-ed or article - template to come
This is a pace and not a race so we don’t expect everyone to do every action, and we will do our best to give you time to prepare. After years of advocacy work, there are so many avenues open to us right now and we are using this campaign to drive them home! Join us!
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