How to Host a Write for Rights Party or Event
Thank you so much for signing up to host your own letter-writing party or event! We want to help you
make your event a success. This “Hosting a W4R Event Toolkit” outlines a timeline, email templates, and
a one-page promo sign. These materials also cover several best practices, marketing and promotions
components.
Last year, AIUSA activists wrote over 46,000 letters for W4R. This year’s goal for AIUSA’s letter writing
marathon is to send 55,000 letters. With your participation we are closer to meeting our goal.
The official time period for Write for Rights is December 4 – 18. However, you can write letters and hold
your event any time between October and the end of the year. We just ask that you report your letters
by January 15 at the very latest, using the online form at www.amnestyusa.org/w4rimpact or by mailing
in the form in your Action Guide.
If you have any questions or if you have an idea you would like to pass by our Events team, please feel
free to get in touch with our Director of Events, Johnny Gonzales, at JohnnyGonzales@aiusa.org.
Suggested Timeline for Your Event
Date
6+ weeks
out
Task
Notes
Sign up at
amnestyusa.org/writ
eforrights
This will help us count your involvement, send you followup information and show your participation on our map.
Pick a date and time
to hold your event.
Consider evenings and weekends.
Pick a location for
your event.
You can host at your home and make it a meaningful way
to connect with your friends, family and community.
Perhaps have a potluck, play music, watch inspirational
Amnesty videos on YouTube, and enjoy knowing that you
are making a difference. Alternatively, feel free to be
creative and set up a table in a busy location at your school
or in your community. Gather people from your place of
worship, your office, or a club.
✓ Please
check off
items
4+ weeks
out
2 weeks
out
1+ weeks
out
5 days out
2 days out
Build a guest list of
potential
participants.
We have a limited number of pins and stickers we can send
to people hosting large parties and events. If you are
having a large event, please email or call Zeke Johnson with
the Individuals at Risk Program at zjohnson@aiusa.org or
(212) 633 – 4256 for more on this.
Send an email
notification to your
guests.
Send confirmation
emails to everyone
that confirms their
attendance.
Promote your event
and/or participation
on social media.
Send Media Advisory
to your local
newspaper.
Begin to prepare all
the materials you’ll
need to write letters,
including case
sheets, sample
letters and success
stories from last
year. Don’t forget to
have plenty of pens
and paper ready.
Choose an area for
the writing within
your home or event
space.
Send a friendly email
to all your
participants and add
a message of how
much you appreciate
their support.
Print the one page
promo sign that has
been included in this
template.
This should be on an ongoing basis. Please see sample
email and feel free to personalize the language provided
for you.
This should be on an ongoing basis. Please see sample
email and feel free to personalize the language provided
for you.
This should be on an ongoing basis.
For a sample media advisory of your letter writing party,
please refer to the Resources Section of the Write for
Rights website. www.amnestyusa.org/writeforrights
All these materials can be found on the Write for Rights
website (www.amnestyusa.org/writeforrights)
Please see sample email and feel free to personalize the
language provided for you.
The one-page promo has hashtags for social media and
encourages participants to promote their participation on
social media. Feel free to add your group name or name
you are giving your event and lay it out by the writing
materials
Day of
event
2-3 days
from
event (BY
JANUARY
15 AT THE
LATEST
Prepare a little blurb
on why you are
hosting this event
and what it means to
you.
Share this with your guests prior to starting the letter
writing. This will set a nice tone to your event.
Call your local
newspaper where
you sent your media
advisory to invite the
outlet personally.
Use the language from your media advisory to begin the
conversation.
Don’t forget to take
pictures and
promote your event
on social media. Ask
your participants to
do the same.
Allow yourself to
have everything
ready at least an
hour before the
event starts.
Please use hashtags: #W4R or #Write4Rights
Send a press release
to reporters
See the Media Toolkit at
www.amnestyusa.org/writeforrights for tips and a
template
Notify AIUSA how
many letters were
written at your
event.
You can choose one of two ways to report your letters:
either use the online form at
www.amnestyusa.org/w4rImpact
or mail in the paper form at the end of your Write for
Rights Action Guide.
Send a thank you
email to all your
event attendees and
media outlets that
were present.
Please see sample email and feel free to personalize the
language provided for you.
Event Email Templates
Best Practices, Tone, & Sample Emails
Emails will not only help you inform your attendees of pertinent event information; they will also help to
set a tone of excitement in their participation. It’s important to sustain a relationship with your
attendees leading up to the event, and with these templates, each email creates a new opportunity of
engagement with new people and allows you to sustain the attention of those that you already know.
Best practices: your invitation email should clearly explain what the event that you are hosting is about.
Give potential attendees a quick overview of the value their attendance provides, as well as important
event details. Send an invitation as soon as the date is set for your event so your potential attendees can
start planning. Include a photo or why the event means so much to you, as a way to add a personal
touch.
Amnesty’s communications should be:




Open: Down to earth, honest, inviting, diverse.
Inventive: Fresh thinking, groundbreaking, ingenious, resourceful.
Intelligent: Well informed, intuitive, considered, influential.
Determined: Positively persistent, courageous, inspiring, fire in your belly.
Please note: these are just templates and we encourage you to personalize your correspondence, as you
see fit.
Inviting Potential Email
Hello <<Name>>,
Have you ever wanted to lend your voice against human rights violations that are occurring around
the world? Here’s your chance to join the largest human rights event in the world - Write for Rights.
Write for Rights is Amnesty International’s global letter writing marathon held each year to mark
Human Rights Day on December 10th.
Write for Rights is about changing the lives of specific people and it’s also about ending the systemic
human rights abuses that the cases represent. It is about defending the rights of all people, here at
home and around the world, including yours and mine.
I am raising my voice by hosting an AIUSA letter writing event on <<Date>> where you you learn
about the 12 urgent Write for Rights cases from around the world. The cases include Rania Alabbasi
and her six children—Dima, Entisar, Najah, Alaa, Ahmad and Layan—who have been “disappeared” by
the Syrian government; Maria (not her real name), a 13-year old child forced into marriage in Burkina
Faso; Phyoe Phyoe Aung, a student leader and Prisoner of Conscience jailed in Myanmar for her human
rights work; Albert Woodfox, subjected to the abuse of over 40 years in solitary confinement right here
in the United States; and 8 other cases you’ll hear more about.
Please join me on <<Date>> as we write letters to government officials on behalf of those that need
our help. Please RSVP by <<Date>> to confirm your attendance. Below are further event details.
Event details:
Location: <<Location>>
Time: <<Time>>
Directions: <<Directions>>
Details: <<If potluck, please bring (TBD)>> or <<Please let attendees know if they would need to bring
anything or nothing at all>>
P.S. If you are unable to attend, please go to the W4R website so that you can learn more about W4R
or perhaps write your own individual letters - amnestyusa.org/writeforrights
Thank you for considering to attend. I hope to see you on <<Date>>.
- <<Name>>
Confirmation Email:
This confirmation email ensures your attendees feel a bit of the personal touch (its optional, as you are
already doing enough with the event), thank people for signing up sets a great tone, and you get to
remind them of what they signed up for. Asking attendees to use the hashtag and promote their
participation on social media is a great way to ensure engagement and possibly more attendees.
Confirmation Email
Hello <<Name>>,
Thank you for confirming your attendance on <<Date>> for the AIUSA letter writing party! I’m looking
forward to seeing you and working on this much-needed cases.
Event details:
When: <<Date>> from <<Duration of Time>>
Where: <<Full Address>>!
Hashtags: #W4R or #Write4Rights
In the meantime, please check out the W4R website and view the information on the cases we will be
writing on amnestyusa.org/writeforrights
Please feel free to use the hashtags above to let others know, and keep in touch!
Again, I look forward to seeing you!
- <<Name>>
Reminder Email:
Sending a reminder email at least one week before your event and the day before your event will ensure
a good turn out. Include important information necessary for attendees, including time and location,
agenda, directions, and other necessary information (as needed).
Reminder Email
Hello <<Name>>,
Our AIUSA letter writing party is one week away. All our attendees are getting excited and gearing to
go.
Below, I have included the event details to ensure you have the necessary information.
Event details:
When: <<Date>> from <<Duration of Time>>
Where: <<Full Address>>!
Hashtags: #W4R or #Write4Rights Please feel free to use the hashtags above to let others know, and
keep in touch!
How to get to the event:
(if this applies)
Parking information:
(if this applies)
I look forward to seeing you!
- <<Name>>
Follow Up Email/After Event:
A follow-up email is critical after an event. If at all possible, we suggest segmenting your audience to
personalize your email. Send one email to those who attended, and one to those who signed up, but did
not attend. Send both groups important follow up information, such as how many letters were written,
and the number of attendees. You can add a personal touching moment or how much the support
meant to you. If you are part of an Amnesty Local Group or Student Group, you can ask people to join it.
If you’re not part of a group, each of you can contact Johnny to be connected with a group in your area:
jgonzales@aiusa.org.
Attended Event:
Attended Event Email
Hello <<Name>>,
Thank you so much for attending the AIUSA letter writing event held at <<location>> on <<Day of the
week>>! I enjoyed having you there and I want to share with you the results of our work.
We had about <<Number>> attendees and we collectively wrote <<Number >> letters.
We couldn’t have done this without you and the rest of our group.
I hope you enjoyed your experience and will join me next year or consider hosting your own AIUSA
letter writing event. If you want to check out the other letter writing events held across the country,
simply go check out these hashtags: #W4R or #Write4Rights
Furthermore, I would like to invite you to join our Amnesty International Local Group! It is a great way
to connect with like-minded people in your community, develop your human rights skills and make
new friends.
Sincerely,
- <<Name>>
Missed Event:
Missed Event Email
Hello <<Name>>,
I’m sorry we missed you at the AIUSA letter writing event held at <<location>> on <<Day of the
week>>. Even though you were not able to attend, I would like to share the following with you.
We had about <<Number>> attendees and we collectively wrote <<Number >> letters.
I hope you can join me next year or consider hosting your own AIUSA letter writing event. If you want
to check out the other letter writing events held across the country, simply go check out these
hashtags: #W4R or #Write4Rights
Furthermore, I would like to invite you to join our Amnesty International Local Group! It is a great way
to connect with like-minded people in your community, develop your human rights skills and make
new friends.
Sincerely,
- <<Name>>