The Congressional Management Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit, surveyed almost 200 senior congressional staffers who reported that emails, letters, and editorials in local newspapers are most effective in influencing legislators. Your representatives have staff tasked with keeping them apprised of what is written in local papers.

In the St. Louis region, you can:

• Submit a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Submit an op-ed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Submit a letter to the editor of the Belleville News-Democrat
• Submit a letter to the editor of the St. Louis American

Check out these tips for effective op-eds and letters:

• National League of Cities
• The New York Times
• The OpEd Project

Next up: Volunteering