Your federal representatives and senators are elected to serve you. You can contact your elected official’s office in several ways, which we outline below.
Your goal is to get to know your elected official and for her or him to get to know you. Help your legislator learn about Vasculitis, the Vasculitis Foundation and important legislation.
Wondering who your elected officials are? Continue reading to find out below, or click here.
You can call your elected officials.
You can meet with your elected official in the home district, or in Washington, D.C. Make sure to call ahead. Sometimes, scheduling conflicts make it difficult to meet with your legislator; if this is the case, ask to make an appointment to meet with staff, particularly staff assigned to work on health care policy.
Consider making a family trip to the nation’s capital. Be sure to call well in advance to make an appointment to meet with your legislator.
Send a letter through regular mail. We recommend that you send a letter to the home or local office rather than to the nation’s capital because security procedures delay mail delivery in Washington D.C. Click here to see sample letters.
Send an email. Click here to send an email through the VF website.
Call your legislator.
Be sure to prepare your message ahead of time. You'll want to have your talking points all set before any communication with members of Congress.
Click here for help with your message.
Whether communicating in person or in writing, it is important to be prepared with your message and to be concise. Try and limit your letter to approximately 200 words. Letters that are too long may go unread.
Identify yourself as a constituent and provide your address.
Share your personal story so you can educate your elected official about vasculitis. Describe the hardships and life changes that you experienced. For example, if you suffered because of a delay in diagnosis, you can stress the importance of awareness, particularly in the medical community.
Consider including a picture of yourself. This help puts a face to a name. If your picture shows you experiencing the side effects of Vasculitis treatment, you may point this out in your letter and stress the need for advanced treatments.
Share some vasculitis facts. Help your elected official understand what Vasculitis is, the number of people in the U.S living with vasculitis and the importance of research funding to identify new treatments and ultimately a cure.
Be specific and ask your legislator for his or her support. Identify the bill number of any legislative initiative that requires support and briefly describe what the bill would accomplish. Ask your legislator whether you can count on support.
Always be polite and respectful. Always send a thank you note following a visit and always thank your legislator at the close of a letter.
Good luck! Thanks for taking the time to contact your legislators.