One way to engage your elected and public officials while also raising public awareness around lung cancer is to obtain a Lung Cancer Awareness Month Proclamation. A proclamation is an official public announcement to recognize an event or celebration.

Proclamations to recognize November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month include information about the impact of lung cancer and often make a recommendation for action. Getting a proclamation is usually a straightforward process, and most elected officials are happy to accommodate constituents to achieve this simple but important recognition.

Here's how to get started:

Research the proclamation process in your state or community.

• Determine if you want to work at a state or local level.
• Start well before November - it could take months to get a proclamation issued.
• Investigate the process to request a proclamation – some government websites have a proclamation request form that you can submit electronically.
• Try calling the governor’s or mayor’s office and ask about the process and who to contact.
• Find out if there was a proclamation issued in previous years that you can re-submit.
• Be aware that each state and city government has a unique process.

Contact your public officials.

• Download and customize the National Lung Cancer Partnership’s proclamation template. Look up the American Cancer Society's listing of your state’s lung cancer incidence and death rates to make the message more relevent to your community.
• Send the proclamation draft and a letter expressing your desire to have this proclamation issued. Download a template for this letter.

Follow up.

• One week after you send your proclamation request, follow up with a phone call to your public official’s office.
• Offer to meet with them to answer any of their questions or concerns.
• Request their timeline on the proclamation request.
• Send thank-you notes to the public officials and others who assisted in achieving the proclamation!

What's next?

Learn how to publicize the proclamation and use it to raise lung cancer awareness in your community!