National Day of Action for Cuba on September 30, 2009

National Day of Action for Cuba on September 30, 2009

Fifty years is enough already! It’s time to end this legacy of isolation and time to start engaging our neighbor. We’ve been pressuring Congress to end the travel ban, but we’ll need your help to push it over the edge. We’re organizing a National Day of Action called CubaGO! Strategically-identified delegations from across the country will be coming to DC to meet with their members of Congress. But in order to really make an impact, the delegations will need back-up from you. That is why we’re encouraging you and to “Call in for Cuba!” Save the date, September 30th, to organize to End the Travel Ban!

Fifty years is enough already!  It’s time to end this legacy of isolation and time to start engaging our neighbor.  We’ve been pressuring Congress to end the travel ban, but we’ll need your help to push it over the edge. 

We’re organizing a National Day of Action called CubaGO!  Strategically-identified delegations from across the country will be coming to DC to meet with their members of Congress. But in order to really make an impact, the delegations will need back-up from you.  That is why we’re encouraging you and to “Call in for Cuba!”

Save the date, September 30th, to organize to End the Travel Ban!

We’ve been updating you about the Legislation (H.R.874/ S.428) since the spring,  and now it is making its way through the House and Senate. The “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act” has more support than any Cuba bill in memory.  But the politics of the past are standing in our way.  When we talk to members of Congress, they tell us that they need to hear FROM YOU! So what can you do?

It’s time to get active. 

Mark your calendars: CubaGO! is set for Wednesday, September 30th, 2009. Start thinking about ways to organize your community (see some ideas below). What we want Congress to hear loud and clear on that day is “Let me go to Cuba – CubaGO!” Let’s flood DC by foot and by phone demanding the freedom to travel to Cuba.

Begin planning now! We’ll send you all the details, including sample call-in scripts, as the date gets closer. Here are some beginning thoughts on how to involve your community in the CubaGO! campaign.

  • Get your friends, classmates and family together for a B.Y.O.C. (bring your own cell-phone) party;
  • Have a “Cuba TRAVEL Libre” cocktail hour or an “End the Travel Ban Mojito Mixer“, or a “Let me go to Cuba Lemonade Party” work break, and talk about your plans to visit Cuba – with cell phones in hand to call Congress
  • Set up a “Lend Your Cell Phone to End the Travel Ban” booth outside your local grocery store, public library, or school-and ask passers-by to call Congress to support travel to Cuba. 

Be aware of your time zone as you plan your events; calls need to come into Congress between 9 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. DC time. If you can get a crowd together, we’ll send you some promotional materials to help you organize, and maybe even t-shirts and stickers. This should be fun!

Watch for updates on the CubaGO! webpage, but start planning now.  Let’s get this bill to the floor and on President Obama’s desk before year’s end. 

Remember, the last Wednesday of September is CubaGO! – Travel for All.

Thank you for your continued support.

-Mavis, Paulo and Andy at the Latin American Working Group