Profile of a Volunteer

"Profile of a Volunteer."

Volunteers are those who willingly give their time, ability, and energy to help others without seeking any type of payment. Volunteers serve the interest of young children and their families by helping different organizations and agencies. Today I was asked to participate in an organization that is designed to help increase self-esteem, promote awareness, and teach young girls how to be more confident in themselves. The founder of this organization Ms. Faye has been volunteering her time to help youth in our community for a while. Outside of being a full -time music teacher she is also a mentor and mother figure to many. She has volunteered at several youth events, some of which she organized. She has been a long-time supporter of the youth in her community training young children of all ages in music, singing, dancing, and now preparing young girl ages 5-12 to develop life changing skills. Being one of her mentee’s she has helped me develop skills I didn’t realize I had. She has also done this for many others. Today she wanted us to be aware of her commitment to her cause and bring any ideas that we thought would be beneficial to the development of these young ladies. Her enthusiasm, motivation, dedication and encouragement will have a major impact on the people she will serve and those willing to help. I am over joyed and excited to help her reach her goal.

Using Social Media

"Using Social Media to Get Connected."

My experience with social media has been one that I thought may not be right for me. But since I have been using social media I have been able to connect to connect with people who I may not otherwise. Although you can be discouraged by some of the things you see on social media, it can also be very resourceful. I am still limited with my use of social media but realizing it can be used for more than just social conversation with family and friends.

It think all social media tools can be effective in advocacy work when used properly. It eliminates having to find time to gather and meet for things that can be resolved using other methods. Social media allows you to share and receive information quickly. I remember when all we had was mail. Now so much is being done through email and is quickly moving towards social media.  I love how we can share on our blogs information that is beneficial to our future success.

I am not by any means that effective when using social media. The only social media outlet that I use daily is facebook. I do know that it can be used in my advocacy efforts because you can set up private groups to share information with those members. We have a group specifically set up for our family members where we share information among ourselves that others can’t view. But I have also used my personal page to share information on topics that I feel are important and can have a positive effect in the lives of others.

I would like to know how others are using other social media tools so that I can increase my ability to promote my advocacy efforts

Advocacy Through Advertising

Advocacy Messages

Advocacy work begins when you define an issue based on research and data that can have a huge impact on a child’s development. When presenting this message when need to ensure that it is impactful, clear, and understandable.  I chose these three messages that I thought were inspiring to me.

v New Frontiers in Early Childhood Development

v Early stimulation and interaction with parents and caregivers jumpstart the journey of brain development — and a lifetime of learning.

v QUALITY MATTERS- STEPS TOWARD QUALITY EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE

Early childhood education is a field that is always changing. Children and their family’s needs have become more diverse than ever before. These changes can have a huge impact on current policies and legislations. New frontiers in early childhood development sends a clear message that we need to be willing to step up to new and improved ways of meeting the needs of young children and their family. The early years of development are the most important. Brain function can change for life based on research that was done done on infant and childhood stimulation showing that, nurturing stimulating interaction between young children and their caregivers and parents permanently and positively strengthens the ability to learn. Early intervention is the foundation to future success, without it, it becomes progressively harder to fix problems.

High quality care contributes to the positive outcomes in early childhood. Care that is emotionally supportive, consistent, and developmentally sound, has a positive effect on the child and family. Care is often influenced by affordability, availability, and family values. For many families, high-quality child care is not affordable, which results in them having to compromises on their choices. Every child’s learning and development is influenced by their experiences that will have long-term consequences for the child, their family, and community. Research of high-quality affordable early childhood education programs for low-income children have lasting positive results that included a decreased need for special education services, greater school success, higher graduation rates, lower juvenile crime, and increased chances of being productive members within their community.

Considering Your Capacity

"My Own Capacity."

            The issue impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood that fuel my passion is ensuring that all children and families have access to quality care and service they need. Young children across the United States have suffered for many years due to the lack of quality care. The first 5 years are the most critical to future growth and development. This is the time they should be building the foundation for their future outcome in school and as adults. Even though we know how important getting a head start is, many young children and their families lack access to affordable quality care. Access to high-quality early childhood opportunities is all too often determined by parental income and geography; and federal programs designed to support high-quality early learning and development are too underfunded to serve all eligible children (CDF, 2011).

            My work as an advocate will depend on me serving in a leadership capacity, partnering with different professional organizations, acting in my community as a resource provider, and addressing the needs of children and young families at board or public meetings. These are just a few resources that I can utilize that can benefit my advocacy work. Working with local and state officials will also be a major resource. There are several professional organizations within my community and across the U.S. that I can be a part of to increase my efforts.

            My personal and professional growth is important when working as an advocate. It is very important that I stay up to date with current policies and laws that may have an impact on our children. I hope to gain as much knowledge as possible by continuing my education and training. I am committed to empowering families and hope that my efforts will change the way we view education.

Resources:

Children's Defense Fund. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Motivations, Strategies, Resources, Leadership, and Advice

At an early age, I always knew I had a strong desire and passion to work with young children. My motivation to advocate for them came when I realized that there were so many laws and policies that would have a major effect on their educational career that they could speak on themselves. Being the parent of children with and without disabilities was also a contributing factor. My lifelong goal has and always will be that all children regardless of ability or disability should have access to a quality education. So many parents like myself who may not fully understand need to be informed of all the opportunities available to them. I had someone who was willing to help me I can now do the same for someone else. Because of my voice others will have the opportunity to become productive members in their community.

Young children and their families are vulnerable and there is a critical need for advocacy at the micro level as well as the macro level. When we can advocate for change at the micro level and are successful in our efforts, this increase our chances for success as we advance our efforts. Micro level advocacy is important because legislature and civic leaders need to hear the concerns of those they represent. If no one expresses to them the negative impact of pending or existing legislation or policies on their communities, they will not feel a need to do anything about it. The advocate’s role at the micro level is to inform public officials of the needs in the communities. When legislators and civic leaders understand how policies affect people’s lives, they are better able to develop, revise, and/or fund projects at the macro level that will foster the well-being of their constituents.

To be a community leader you must be willing to act against issues that threaten the livelihood of young children and their families. You must know and have a clear understanding and be knowledgeable about the issue. You must be thoughtful and connected to others you are advocating for as well as those you will work with. You must also be firm and stand strong on what you believe. To effectively influence the creation, implementation, or regulation of public policy, you must know some basic facts about the legislative process and understand different strategies you can use to influence it. In the advocate’s role, an individual works to promote, defend, or defeat policies and programs she believes are in the best interest of specific members of the community. An advocate takes a stand, spreads the word, and creates visibility for the issue. She uses the information provided by experts to develop campaigns to create, support, or change policies that impact children and families.

 The first step in effective advocacy is understanding the policy making process.  We can also communicate with elected officials by phone, through e-mails, writing letters, and by visiting local and state offices. We should able to work with the media, to draw attention to laws and to build public support. An advocate can use information provided by experts that will allow them to develop campaigns to support, change, or create policies that will impact children and their family.

When developing, an effective advocacy plan you must be strategic and intentional. It will involve choosing strategies that educate policy makers and the public about an issue.  Strategies include information kits, fact sheets, surveys, web sites, reports, multimedia presentations, position papers, and letters to the editor or editorials. To implement your advocacy plan, you may need to convince key policy makers to support your cause by going beyond educating. Effective persuasive strategies include visits, letters and e-mails, phone calls, testimony, and hosting policy makers at your program, school, or center. Effective advocacy efforts require the use of many different persuasive and educational strategies combined.

Messages for Families

"Personal Advocacy Reflection"

Over the years, I have heard so many stories of how someone has been affected in positive ways by the advocacy of someone else. Their voice help make things possible for them that they thought were impossible. As I reflect on the years past and I think about my daughter who is now 27 years old and the struggles she faced being a deaf student trying to earn a regular education diploma so she could go to college. The first challenge we had to face was her being able to receive a regular ed. Diploma, and there were many more struggles along the way. In recent years in the schools she attended all deaf students were placed in special ed. and received a certificate of attendance upon graduation. She attended schools in another district from where we lived because the services she needed were not available in our county. During here elementary years we realized that she could perform as well as some of the regular students so we determined then that we would put her track to receive a regular ed. Diploma. Because the district had always awarded deaf students special ed. diploma’s they didn’t think she would be able to do it.  They even put her back a grade level because they didn’t think she would be able to keep up with the other kids. The special education director at the time, Mrs. Denning became her voice. She had been working with us through the entire experience, so she knew she was capable of earning a regular diploma. After finishing middle school and going into high school Mrs. Denning and I were just as determined as my daughter that she would receive her diploma and go on to college. They gave us every excuse why they didn’t think that was the best decision but Mrs. Denning made sure that everything we wanted we got. I am so thankful I had her during that time because I was a young mother and didn’t fully understand all that was going on.

This experience is the driving force behind why I have become passionate about advocacy work. So many parents like myself who may not fully understand needs to be informed of all the opportunities available to them. Because I had someone who was willing to help me I can now do the same for someone else. Because of this voice my daughter went on to college, graduated with a degree in dance and has now along with her other siblings formed their own dance team and working to own their own dance studio.

Advocacy Action Overview

Hello everyone,

Welcome to class, I am excited  and I am looking forward to sharing information through our class discussions. I hope that we all have a positive and enjoyable learning experience as we learn how to become great advocates and advance in our educational journey.