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It has become common around holidays to see articles offering advice on how to avoid political conversation when returning home for family gatherings. These articles propose often elaborate ways to change the subject, warning of the distinctly unappetizing effect of venturing into a discussion on current events.

Is this really necessary? Have we gotten to a point where we cannot bring up front page stories for fear of straining – even possibly ruining – long-standing relationships?

The Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago decided to try to answer this

Afterschool advocates meet with a Congressional staffer on Capitol Hill.

On April 16, 2015, after three days of markups, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted to reinstate funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization. The Committee’s bipartisan vote to preserve 21st CCLC, the primary source of federal funding for afterschool programs, will not only improve existing opportunities for the 1.6 million children currently enrolled in afterschool programs, but will also help modernize the initiative and

Water advocates meet with Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) on Capitol Hill.

An online survey conducted by the Congressional Management Foundation found that 97% of Hill staffers surveyed said that constituent visits have ‘some’ or ‘a lot’ of influence on a Member of Congress. The recent enactment of the Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014 supports this statistic, illustrating the far-reaching impact of constituent visits and citizen advocacy.

In 2014, Schrayer & Associates worked with World Vision to plan H2O:DC, a two day conference that brought supporters from across the country