In the Letters to Congress club, members are educated on writing formal letters, find
issues that affect them and mail letters to Maryland Congressmen to address these issues.
According to President Brandon Sun, Letters to Congress’ goal as a club is to, “advocate for change in America.” President Jonathan Kwak said their goal is “to empower students and know they can make changes in our society.”

They teach members how to write letters formally and guide them to help get these letters to Congress. They also write emails as a form of communication with local Congressmen. According to Kwak, the first half of their meetings they will give a brief presentation. These presentations will consist of suggestions for possible issues to address. The presentations will also teach members how to write letters to Congressmen. The second
half of their meetings will be dedicated to members writing letters. The club will send letters
once a month.

The issues they will focus on are ones that relate to fixing schools and “laws that relate
to younger people like students and teenagers,” according to Kwak. Club leaders encourage students to become members. If there’s any topic or issue that they are passionate about they can address their issue here. Letters to Congress want to address a variety of issues from all students. Sun said, “Your opinion is judgment-free.”

The members of Congress that this club targets represent Maryland. Club leaders want to target David Trone and Jamie Raskin. Sun said, “We will target Jamie Raskin because he is an influential member of Congress that supports our area.”

The club expects that the letters they write will have a broad impact. They intend every
letter written in their club to be noticed by the government official it is sent to. Sun said, “I expect to receive a reply for every letter we send.”

The club will not force its members to only focus on issues relating to Maryland. Club
leaders are open to members’ issues that impact the country as a whole. Kwak said, “If our
members want to write a letter to the president I’m all for that.”

Letters to Congress will be sending letters often and it could be difficult for them to send a large number of letters by themselves. The responsibility of mailing letters will be placed on the club rather than the members. The club will be sending their letters “on behalf of Wootton.”

The club allows members to be heard and make an impact. “You get a chance to speak out on areas that you feel need to be changed in America,” Sun said. Club leaders say that this club will help out members. This club will boost members’ resumes and being a part of this club will show important attributes. According to Sun, “It’s a great extracurricular activity that shows leadership and social advocacy.”

The club is not competitive to join. This is because Letters to Congress wants to raise as
as many voices as possible. Sun said, “You can just join.”