Please consider submitting a letter to the editor of your local paper calling for Governor Wolf to provide assistance for residents of The Woodlands and other communities that have lost drinking water because of fracking.
First a few tips:
- Keep it short- most published letters to the editors are between 150 and 200 words.
- Put the main point right at the top, to catch the attention of the reader
- Personalize/localize it
Do not use any of the language from this sample. Newspaper opinion departments are very good at finding instances where sample letters are used, even when they’re submitted to different papers. Please use this as an example of what a letter could look like.
To the editor:
As he unveils his new budget proposal, I can’t help but think of the Pennsylvanians who desperately need help from the state, and won’t be getting it any time soon. For six years, residents of the Woodlands community have lived without clean water, thanks to contamination from nearby oil and gas drilling. Families have relied on donations to a nearby water bank in order to survive; a recent campaign by faith leaders across the state raised $5,000 to maintain weekly bottled water deliveries to the affected households.
Many politicians like to say that a budget is a reflection of our values. There is some truth in that, and Governor Wolf has once again failed to offer meaningful assistance to our neighbors in need. While I am in awe of the volunteers who do the hard work to make life bearable for these families, it is outrageous that this community must rely on a volunteer-run water bank to survive. Shame on Governor Wolf, and any other political leader in Harrisburg who has failed our neighbors in the Woodlands.
You can compose and send your own letter at http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5415/letter/?letter_KEY=790.
Briget Shields
I would personally like to thank all of the people who are responsible for getting this message out and for the donations for Water for the Woodlands. I am one of the people who started the group Friends of the Harmed, publishers of Shalefield Stories. It has been our mission to help those families negatively impacted by the fracking industry. There are hundreds of families who have been without water in PA due to fracking related incidents. It has been covered up, neglected and in my opinion criminal what the industry and our political leaders have been doing about this very serious problem. We are grateful to all of you for stepping up to help these families and for helping us get the word out about what has happened.
Thank you from Friends of the Harmed and myself.
God Bless you all,
Briget Shields
Outreach coordinator
Friends of the Harmed and Marcellus Protest
s.strauss@pachurches.org
Briget,
We are happy that we could be of help, even in this small way. And thank you for all that you do to get these stories out to the public!
Blessings,
Sandy