Profile of a Volunteer

The first volunteer I met was my mother.  Being a volunteer mom is not the easiest role as a parent.  Being a Girl Scout leader was a role that my mother took with ease and never at any moment appeared to be frustrated or lack of interest.  My mom was always the leader that made each girls experience fun and a learning experience.  With the limited funding available she would dip into her own pocket without even thinking twice about it.  The love and attention she gave to each girl involved in this wonderful program for children is indescribable.   I really do not even think my mom even witnessed the confidence she gave each girl in our Girl Scout troop.  With the Girl Scouts in hand my mother assisted with the beginnings of friendships among girls that included lessons in life that will stay with all of us throughout our adolescents.  My take-away from my mom’s position was to always be kind and care for others.   

 

 

 

To elaborate what Girl Scouts take part in with advocacy, I have included an example of how important this organization is to girls and their families around the country.   Girl Scouts of the USA's Public Policy and Advocacy Office has worked across party lines with Congress and the Executive Branch to educate and raise awareness of the issues important to girls and young women. Through their advocacy efforts, they inform and educate key representatives of the government's legislative and executive branches about issues important to girls and Girl Scouting and help demonstrate to policymakers that Girl Scouts is a resource and an authority on issues affecting girls (Girl Scouts, 2014)

Girl Scouts. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/advocacy/

Using Social Media to Get Connected

I began my “social media” life some years ago with Facebook.  At first I began it to share family photos and to keep in touch with my family members that live away.  But now I use it to find contacts, investigate, and to use as a way to communicate with organizations and others.  YouTube is another social media that I use daily with my children and with my program.   I am addicted to finding motivational videos for EC professionals.  One specific I love is the Soul Pancake series.  The video above is a perfect example of St. Jude's hospital advocating for their program.

I believe that Facebook and YouTube are both great tools that assist with effective advocacy.  They are both free advertisement and are both popular sites that most people in society use daily.

 

My question to my colleagues is what types of social media would you use to promote their advocacy subject?  When speaking to my husband that is the administrator for a military teen program stated that the teens are more into using Instagram.  Is that one that you all would use?

Advocacy Messages

 

 

I love this quote!  It speaks for any educator that have dedicated their lives to educating children, making a difference.  As an educator I think that we at times forget that we are worth so much more than we see ourselves as.  I believe the message alone is effective because of the audience it is directed to; educators.

 

 

This caught my eye simply because as a society generated by men we forget that they want to have fun and enjoy their families at home.  I think of my husband with my children and how much they love him.  They look forward to him coming home each evening just to do those afternoon basketball games or my daughter sitting with her clarinet and my husband listening to her as if she is in Carnegie Hall.  We have to advocate for those fathers that DO want to be involved in their child's lives.

 

Educators are trained to recognize the signs of any type of developmental delays, mental instability, or abuse.  As parents we typically ignore signs of any type of delays, we simply believe our babies are simply babies.  As we advertise these types of ad's the messages can get out and families start to realize that maybe, just maybe their child is displaying some signs of autism.  As a sibling of an autistic brother, it was hard to accept the diagnosis but without his Head Start teacher, his diagnosis possibly could have went years without a diagnosis. 

My Own Capacity

As I have taken on the role of an advocate, I have gathered from other professionals that are very knowledgeable and hold special skills that I have never witnessed from others. One of those skills is being persistent.  Knowing what is needed and never second guessing what the children and families need in my program is something that I gained on my own from experience working in the EC field.  Advocating for programs in need of funding or qualified staff that deserve a salary worth working for is an area that gives me the push to talk a little louder and get others to hear what is needed in order to change the way our children are growing up and contributing to society. 

Working among a community where the majority of them are service members; resources are heavy for the families, especially for those that are struggling with a disability from serving during a war.  Among the community we have an abundance of young parents that are in need of assistance in regards to taking care of their brand new baby.  Assisting with them and providing resources that they are in need of is part of my job that I love doing.  I hope to grow with more knowledge and learning some positive ways to communicate with others that are in need of help. 

My Role as an Advocate

I have spoken about my beginnings in earlier postings.  My motivation began with my parents.  I remember a time when my brother participated in the local Special Olympics and to see the amount of people in the community coming together for one cause.   Ensuring that each child participates in a physical activity (with assistance of course) and having FUN!  That is what it was all about! 

Being a mother of two has brought about feelings that I never experienced.  I have recently assisted with the PTO with my daughter’s middle school and with that in mind I want to close that gap between my child’s teacher and myself.  Building those relationships gives me the ability to learn of needs and wants that they want to improve the educational needs of the children in the community.

It is always essential to know about both micro and macro levels.  Being effective at the micro level requires you to have knowledge of children, families, and the community resources. Being effective at the macro level requires the knowledge of micro level and also the knowledge of the legislative process.  Both are effective and are creating change for the lives of our state and local programs.  We see more and more community leaders including early childhood programs involved in their advocacy plans.  I believe that in order for a community leader that they need to have the experience or an experienced advisor that has worked hand in hand in the early childhood field.  Just as we have in the master’s course, it is easier to advocate because most of us have connections to the early childhood field. 

As I have become more informative with the coming up elections witnessing debates among my state leaders has put a smile and a frown at the same time.  Every politician is going to try to sell you a solution to a problem to get the vote, but I want to see more resources used in their speeches and actual results to be visible.  Our state leaders will need to build those relationships with the community that need to include volunteering their time to meet with the community and finding out what they need. 

I find as an educator to the families I serve, using Parent Advisory Board meetings, newsletters, conferences with their teachers are all ways to mobilize others.  Getting the needs and wants for our children to have in order to keep up with society and to become successful stewards for the future.  Working side by side with other advocates and new educators I believe has only assisted with my ability to push forward with the improvement of my program.  The best advice I could ever give others that are taking a leadership role in advocating would to be to network.  Networking within the community will only validate the subject that needs to be advocated for.  Working among those that have experience and those that are fresh with ideas is needed as well. 

Personal Advocacy Reflection

Advocacy comes to me naturally.  My parents were the first advocates that I knew.  When I was fifteen my parents adopted my brother who was born prematurely to parents that were mentally incapacitated.  They abused drugs and did not take care of themselves in regards to their mental and physical health.  Within the first few years we began to see a difference in my brother that did not seem typical behavior.  He began to stare into the air as if he was daydreaming and when he would get excited he would jump up and down with his hands by his head.  I know that may seem overdramatic but for a sixteen year old girl it caused so many emotions that I was not able to express.

I learned very quickly how to advocate for others.  My parents had to fight for medical care for him that the military was not necessarily willing to assist with.  (My father was a US Marine)  My brother attended Head Start and went through school like he was a typical kid but had struggles with ability to take on classes that you and I would not have a problem with.   He is a typical 20 year old kid now that still struggles with a few things but overall is living a good life. 

From the moment I saw my parents in action, I knew what was important in life.  Every human being deserves to live a life of no worries.  No matter what type of disability, economic status, educational background, we all deserve a fair chance in society.  I began my advocacy with my family supporting my brother.  I wanted to always be involved in the lives of children from then on.  As an administrator of a large military child development center I have taken those first experiences with my family and used some of those with my everyday interactions and my career.  I have a lot more to learn to become even better at what I am good at.  If that even makes sense.  I love assisting others.  My biggest joy in life would be to see my own children to love others-strangers as much as I love them.  I already see it in my daughter. 

 

Advocacy Action Overview

I have always wanted to be someone that makes a difference in my community.  Everyday I have the opportunity to make a difference in a child's life along with the family members that support that child.  I work among some of the most loving individuals that have always advocated for others without any regrets. 

I began my journey with advocates when I was only eighteen years old and have created some great partnerships that assist with making what is important to me easier to obtain.  Just sitting here thinking about the last two classes of this Master's program has me thinking about how much I have gained from being involved with my professors and colleagues.  The experiences they have had and overcome is just another example how I can learn from them.  I believe I am a natural born advocate. Do I have a lot to learn...absolutely.  Everyone has room for improvement right?