Talk by Cynthia Hamilton, Indivisible Organizer for Eastern Washington State

Spokane County Democrats Donkey Club Luncheon 5/20/2025

Your voice, your power, our democracy

How many of you actually have the Five Calls app? When was the last time you used it? Not enough of us, and that’s why I teach these classes. A lot of people say they want to use it, but then no one shows them how to make those phone calls.

We all know that those phone calls are some of the most efficient and effective tools we have as constituents to influence decisions about budgets that could significantly impact our country. So we need to get on board with this now because they’re getting ready to vote on important issues.

If you know how to use it, are you teaching others? The usual call volume in D.C. is only about 40 calls per minute for 435 Congress members—that’s just one call for every ten Congress critters! With Five Calls, we once got that number up to 3,000 calls per minute; however, it’s fallen off recently at a time when it’s crucial for us to be making these calls.

When I was in Chewelah, WA, I showed everyone how easy it is to use Five Calls—65 people were making calls at once! It was awesome! When I asked them if they thought it was easy many raised their hands affirmatively while others seemed unsure or hadn’t used it yet.

So here’s what you need: download the Five Calls app from your Play Store or Apple Store right now—this is your most effective tool for reaching out to your Congress members! Changing my language has been key in my success when communicating with officials; it’s essential that we speak their language if we want our voices heard.

Now, have you downloaded the app onto your phone? Great! Are you looking at the issues? Is it helpful? Can I get an amen?! Remember that each phone call represents approximately 10,000 voters because people often feel too intimidated or unqualified to confront someone directly about their concerns.

Five Calls provides information about current issues being voted on—it cuts through unnecessary topics and helps focus on what truly matters right now. Once you’ve made a call through this tool, remember you’re representing thousands of other voters!

If you’re nervous about talking directly with someone call after hours—call after 2 PM PST (5 pm EST) when they’ve likely gone home and leave a message instead!

When using Five Calls again today or tomorrow—or whenever—you’ll see your representative and senators listed, 3 in Washington state – one Congressman and two Senators; don’t forget those Senators even if they seem aligned with our views—they still need feedback from us!

It’s vital that we communicate our preferences clearly before votes happen so Congress knows where constituents stand—otherwise they might assume there’s no clear majority opinion and vote accordingly based solely on assumptions rather than facts.

Emails hold less weight compared with phone calls since they’re valued at around 1,000 voters each simply because there’s little chance anyone will respond personally—and canned responses don’t help either!

An actual letter carries slightly more value but requires far more effort than simply picking up a phone—it may take days before anyone sees your thoughts by which time decisions may already be made!

So let’s commit today: teach someone else how easy using Five Calls can be within five days.

We cannot remain comfortable anymore—we must start doing things differently starting today—and tomorrow we’ll share knowledge further afield until everyone understands its importance!

To find out more about 5 Calls contact Cynthia Hamilton and I’ll help connect you to class sessions available soon: bugsmind@comcast.net