A revised plea!

Okay everyone, I just checked out the status of the Guatemala 5000 initiative and they have changed it slightly. The information following is from the JCICS website.

10/8 - Based on events of the past three days, Joint Council has revised its Call to Action and Guatemala 5000 Initiative. While the changes are minor, they are none the less important to the overall goal of ensuring that the Guatemalan children whose adoptions are in process are allowed to be united with their forever family. It is the understanding of Joint Council that the U.S. Department of State, Hague Permanent Bureau and UNICEF-Guatemala now support the amendment to Bill # 3217, which addresses the issue of adoptions in process. As a result, we are recommending that your calls, emails and faxes be targeted to two primary entities; the United States Congress and UNICEF Headquarters in New York.

We greatly appreciate the recent revisions to the UNICEF statement on intercountry adoption. While UNICEF-Guatemala has been removed from our list of recommended calls, we continue to request that the office of Ann Veneman publicly support the completion of Guatemalan adoptions currently in process.

Make six four simple phone calls and one email.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.
· You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.
· You can find your representative at www.house.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

4. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarters
· Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director
· Their number is 212-326-7000
· Their fax number is 212-326-7758

5. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala

6. Send and email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org
· Write briefly or at length
· Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption

When should you call?
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (October 9th, 10th, 11th)
For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window!

What should you say or write to a member of the U.S. Congress?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information:
· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger
· If they do not have the letters, ask them to contact CCAI at 202-544-8500.
· Ask them to sign the Joint Council sponsored letter to UNICEF
· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the United States will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
· Inform them that President Berger's initial announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

What should you say or write to UNICEF Headquarters in New York?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information
· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to support the rights of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.
· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
· Inform them that President Berger’s announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

Thanks everyone!