Above: U2FP CAN advocate Samantha Troyer speaks with WISN news anchor Patrick Paolantonio at the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.

This week, U2FP’s superstar CAN advocate, Sam Troyer, was featured in a local news piece on Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate WISN 12. The story just became available online last night - take a minute and check it out.
 

WATCH THE STORY

This story also included U2FP’s Executive Director Matthew Rodreick explaining some of the nuances of the bill and why it’s important we pass it now.
 

You can amplify the impact of this story by contacting the chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, which is meeting today to decide the fate of our bill. 
 

Please contact these Wisconsin legislators, Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born today, no matter what state or country you live in. If you do live in their district, be sure to mention it.

• Sen. Howard Marklein (R - Spring Green)
  608) 266-0703 | Sen.Marklein@legis.wi.gov
   
• Rep. Mark Born (R - Beaver Dam)
  (608) 237-9139 | Rep.Born@legis.wisconsin.gov
   

You can say something like this (but remember to make it your own):

 

Dear [Legislator Name Here],

My name is ____  ______, and I [have a spinal cord injury / am family/friend of someone with a spinal cord injury].
 

I saw the WISN news story last night on the spinal cord injury research grant bill (AB19/SB27) and am urging you to include it in the proposed budget. This is a smart, efficient appropriation that is:         

• A Great Investment. WI SCI researchers have testified that seed money like this often yields an 5-to1 return on investment (ROI) with some researchers reporting up to a 10-to-1 ROI.
• Extremely Popular. Right now, one third of the entire legislature has already signed on in support of this bill.
• Very Affordable. $3M is a drop in the bucket when you consider that last year’s state budget was over $62 Billion (with a “B”) dollars.

This money will get SCI research out of the lab and into people like [me/my family/friend]. We desperately need this legislation to be included in the governor's budget this session. Our community can’t wait!

Thanks in advance for contacting Joint Finance Committee Chairs Marklein and Born today!

We’re in the home stretch - let’s get this done!

Jake Beckstrom, CAN Manager
U2FP

PS -  Our monthly donors have been a main driver behind our legislative success in Minnesota, Washington, Pennsylvania and Ohio. We're very close to locking down Wisconsin for another $3M appropriation, which would bring our cumulative funding to over $30M by the end of this year. If you don't already give monthly please  consider becoming a monthly donor today. Help us fuel the movement for functional recovery after spinal cord injury!