Please complete the State Advocacy Ambassador Training Program to access the Advocacy Toolkit, a collection of legislative resources and leave behinds that will prepare you to effectively advocate to your Members of Congress.
Advocacy Toolkit
Thank you for advocating on behalf of the more than 3 million Americans with celiac disease.
The Celiac Disease Foundation Advocacy Toolkit contains the resources you need to meet with your Members of Congress as a Celiac Disease Foundation State Advocacy Ambassador. Our Legislative Resources will help prepare you for these meetings. Leave Behinds are for you to download and give to your Members of Congress.
By building a relationship over time – through letters, emails, phone calls, and virtual visits – you have a much better chance of convincing your Members of Congress to support issues important to the celiac community. Use the tools below to grow your relationship year-round.
Remember to email us at [email protected] to update us on your advocacy activities.
Socially Distanced Advocacy
There are many ways you and your network can get in contact with your Members of Congress.
Call, email, or tweet your Members of Congress to share your celiac disease story and urge them to support the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Current Asks.
Sign up for your Members of Congress’ email lists to be notified when they host virtual events, fundraisers, or town halls. You can also search for town halls near you and sign up to receive alerts from Town Hall Project when your representative hosts a town hall.
Sign up for Congress.gov email alerts to be notified of changes in Members, bills, nominations, and the Congressional Record.
Legislative Resources
Our resources will help you and your network develop your advocacy skills, learn how to represent the Celiac Disease Foundation’s legislative priorities, and feel comfortable sharing your story with Members of Congress.
How to Set Up Meetings With Your Legislators
How to Set Up Meetings with Your Legislators includes tips to help you and your network make the most of your Congressional meetings as well as a sample script you can use to request a meeting with your legislator.
The Essential Guide to Legislation by POLITICO Pro
POLITICO Pro’s Essential Guide to Legislation breaks down each step of the the legislative process to give you a basic understanding of how a bill becomes a law. Knowledge of this process will better equip you to advocate for the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Current Asks of Congress.
Crafting Your Story to Affect Change
Use the prompts in Crafting Your Story to Affect Change to learn how to effectively share your (or another’s) celiac disease story to impact public policy.
Legislative Meeting Thank You Note Template
Use the Legislative Meeting Thank You Note Template to follow up with the Members of Congress or staff you met with and reiterate key points you discussed.
Find Information About Your Legislators
Use these resources to find out who your Members of Congress are and how to contact them.
Keeping in Touch With Your Legislators
One contact, letter, or meeting may not influence your legislator’s decision on an issue. But by building a relationship with your legislators and their staff – through emails, letters, phone calls, and visits – you can make an impact in promoting the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Public Policy Priorities. Feel free to reach out to them regularly about our Current Asks of Congress – a phone call or email every now and then helps remind them of celiac disease issues.
You and your network can forward emails from the Celiac Disease Foundation to show how research discoveries are improving the lives of people with celiac disease, or tag your legislators in a social media post or tweet. Legislators especially like to see news about what’s happening in their state or district. You can send an article about a local scientist working in celiac disease or a person whose story illustrates why celiac disease research is needed.
By developing this relationship, you also become a trusted Celiac Disease Foundation liaison, and your legislators may come to you asking for information from the Celiac Disease Foundation and your point of view as a patient or caregiver. They are likely to want the facts when it comes time to consider a particular bill. We are here to help you become your legislators’ state expert on celiac disease. Our advocacy team is always available to help prepare you for a call or meeting, and to meet with your legislators or their staff in Washington, DC.
Please email Amanda Halligan at [email protected] for assistance.
Leave Behinds
Once you have a meeting set up with your Member of Congress or their staff, print out the leave behinds to bring with you. Leave behinds give background information about what you are asking your Member of Congress or their staff to do while also physically leaving something for them to remember you.
We recommend printing double-sided for the documents that are longer than a page, and printing on 28 lb color copy paper for a professional look.
The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2021
The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2021 will update front-of-package food labeling requirements, require updates to the ingredients list on packaged foods, and apply consumer friendly labeling requirements, including the disclosure of gluten-containing grains.
This important piece of legislation will make it easier and safer for individuals with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity to make informed purchases of food items by requiring the labeling of rye and barley ingredients, in addition to wheat.
The Food Labeling Modernization Act has different bill numbers in the House and Senate, so make sure you bring the appropriate leave behind when meeting with your House Representative, U.S. Senator, or their staff.
The Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2021
The Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2021 will make it easier to identify gluten in prescription drugs. This legislation would require drug manufacturers to label medications intended for human use with the list of ingredients, their source, and whether gluten is present.
The Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act has different bill numbers in the House and Senate, so make sure you bring the appropriate leave behind when meeting with your House Representative, U.S. Senator, or their staff. Download the House version below. Reintroduction of the Senate version for this bill is pending.
The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2021
The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2021 will expand Medicare beneficiaries’ access to Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT), which is a cost-effective component of treatment for celiac disease, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and other chronic conditions. Currently, Medicare Part B only covers outpatient MNT for diabetes, renal disease, and post-kidney transplant.
The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act has different bill numbers in the House and Senate, so make sure you bring the appropriate leave behind when meeting with your House Representative, U.S. Senator, or their staff.
About the Celiac Disease Foundation and Celiac Disease Facts and Figures
The Celiac Disease Facts and Figures leave behind contains compelling statistics about celiac disease to illustrate why better treatments and a cure are desperately needed.
Our About the Celiac Disease Foundation leave behind provides background information about the Celiac Disease Foundation and lists our Current Asks of Congress.
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