My own Capacity

An issue that fuels my passion for advocacy is children and families that deal with poverty and poor health issues that can be corrected.  I feel there are ways and policies that can eliminate poverty and other health related issues for children and help families provide essential services to their children.  The special skills I bring to this advocacy effort is my loud and persistent voice.  I can be very tenacious and this a skill that is needed, along with proper communication and knowledge of legislative which are skills I also hold.  I believe these skills will help me gain ground in getting law makers to pass policies and laws that will end child hunger and make services that will help the children have better health coverage and better quality of life.  I hope to grow in becoming a more effective advocate by networking and gaining resources.  I know I need to link with others who have the common goal of eliminate child poverty and poor health in children.       

My Role as an Advocate

The thing that motivated me to start advocating for young children was I saw young children were encountering so many issues that I felt were unfair to them.  For example, obesity.  I feel young children should never have to encounter child obesity and all the health, emotional, physical, and social ramifications that come with it.  I understand child obesity is a nationwide problem but to I take it as we also need to look at the local and micro levels because that will kick start the change that will influence a change on the nationwide level or macro level.   This is way it is important to pay attention and foster efforts at the micro level.  It takes passion, communication skills and strong skills in the ability to collaborate with others.  For state leaders they need resources.  Some resources they need are advocates to keep them in the know, business leaders for financial resources, economics with help with the budget, and other EC professionals so they can have the current trends in early education and care.  Some advice I would give people who want to be in leadership roles are listen to those around you.  They will keep you up to date on current issues. Also have a team a trusted advisors who can help you come up with proper solutions.  Then I would say trust your own instincts and fuel the passion for change.   

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I'll tell my story.  My family and I fell on hard times.  We lost our jobs and was having a hard to getting new jobs.  It was frustrating, tiring, and exhausting.  So one day, when we had nothing to eat, I went to local food bank I had heard about from a friend.  While I was sitting there waiting with my children, one of the family advocates called me into her office.  She took the time to talk to me but the thing that stood out was that she asked me how I was doing.  I had been so wrapped up in my current situation that I didn't have to time to think about how I was feeling and process anything.  All I could do was cry.  She gave me a hug and talked to me about numerous options I could do to better my family's situation.  Long story cut short, her conversation is what fueled me to go back to school and get my master's degree.  It was the best decision I have ever made. 

Becoming a Advocate

Hello everyone.  I am so excited for this course and I am ready to learn from others perspectives on advocacy too.  It is my professional goal to be a child advocate and work closely with children and families in my community.  I really want to make difference and I know that will gain the most knowledge when I learn from others.  Plus it takes to a team to bring about change.  I want to thank you in advance for helping me a better advocate.