Tips and Message Points
For Writing Letters To Ohio Officials

Please… write and send letters now!
It's really important and it really helps!

Letter-writing Tips

Send letters you’ve written yourself to your state representative, senator, the Governor and the Chancellor of the Board of Regents! It’s a powerful way to make sure your voice is heard in our efforts to save state financial assistance for all Ohio career college students. Yes, lawmakers do read, react and respond to letters from persons who can choose to vote for – or against – them!

Lay out your concerns to state officials by email if you must, but a traditional letter on paper – preferably typed (at least neatly hand-written) makes a bigger impact. Sure, each stamp costs 44 cents, but imagine the impact a stack of hundreds of letters makes…

• Do write letters or send emails to your state representative, senator, the governor and the chancellor of higher education. DON’T be a copy cat – don’t duplicate someone else’s letter or email – legislators hate to receive what they perceive to be “chain letters.” They’re just more spam.
  • This is especially true regarding emails, forwarding, “digital petitions” and other tactics which suggest you really didn’t want to take the time. (So… you really don’t care?) That’s why it’s important to write your own letter using your own words. For help, see OUR ISSUES AND SAMPLE MESSAGE POINTS, below.

How To Contact Your Legislator: 1. Click this link 2. Scroll down to “Find Legislator by Zip Code. 3. Enter your 9-DIGIT Zip code. IMPORTANT – if you don’t know the last 4 numbers, click on the provided link to get it. 4. Enter full zip code information and click on “GO” 5. You’ll see the names of your state representative and senator. 6. Click on each name to retrieve contact information.

• Do get quickly to the point: Career college students don’t want OCOG slashed and we deserve equal treatment and an equal share of funding …but then share your own experiences relating why state continuation of student financial assistance is personally important to you and your family.
• Of course – you can send the same message you’ve just worked hard to write to your state representative, state senator, Governor Strickland, Chancellor Eric Fingerhut and others, but personalize the inside address and greeting to each – It’s Dear Representative Brown, Senator Green, Chancellor Fingerhut, Governor Strickland.
• Each of your letters should each be hand signed, with your full name and home address typed or neatly written below your signature. A telephone number where you can be reached is an additional nice touch. All this helps validate your “official complaint” from a taxpaying Ohio citizen.
• Find contact information for your state representative and state senator here. Contact info for Governor Strickland and Chancellor Fingerhut is in the Resources section.

Our Issues and Sample Message Points

Write your own letter, but before you do, please take time to understand the issues affecting all of us. Browse the www.SaveOCOG.org Web site and learn. Know what’s happening and you’ll write a bet-ter letter.

Dear Senator [last name], Representative [last name], Governor Strickland, Chancellor Fingerhut:

• I am writing to you to ask your support for maintaining state financial assistance for students like me who attend Ohio’s career colleges.
• The financial help I am receiving through the Ohio College Opportunity Grant is essential for me to be able to earn my associate’s degree because…
• I am a single mother. OCOG is the only way I can continue my education and support my family.
• I lost my job and know I have to go back to school and earn an associate degree so I can get back to work in a new job with a real future.
• I’m in a dead-end job and, without state financial help, I won’t be able to afford a college education.
• I’m already borrowing a lot of money to go to college. Slashing financial assistance to career college students makes no sense. I shouldn’t have to be faced with going deeper into debt so I can get a better job.
• I tried a state community college [name?], but it didn’t work out for me because… My career college [name?] is a better fit for me because…
• Your Own Personal Story is The Most Powerful!

Career college students like me shouldn’t be singled out to have our state financial assistance slashed. Why are we being treated differently from students who go to other colleges and universities in Ohio? This simply isn’t fair…

• State grants to help us attend college based upon our financial needs should continue to be equally available to everybody, regardless of what kind of college we want to go to.
• The governor says he believes it’s really important for the state to help better educate all of us and re-train people who have lost their old jobs, so they can stay off welfare programs, get back to work and start paying taxes again. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Why is the state try-ing to take away my OCOG assistance?
• I know my career college [name] does a great job of educating students and helps them to find well-paying jobs. That’s why I chose my career college [name]. I want to become a [name your career field], Money from OCOG is very important for me if I can hope to earn my associate degree and achieve my goal.
• Please restore the millions of dollars that are being cut from OCOG. I need my OCOG assistance to earn my associate degree. So do many thousands of career college students from all over Ohio.

Please – Write Your Letters and Send Them Today!