My role as an advocate

My role as an advocate

What started me to advocate for young children was my own personal experience as a child of having no voice and being discriminated against and being mistreated. I think it is important to acknowledge and foster advocacy at the micro level as well as the macro level because the micro level is always a starting point and that is where you build relationships and network. The macro level is where the decision makers are and if you can master getting solutions on the micro level then the macro level will be easy. To be a community leader on early childhood issues you must get involved in the community and do the work. You will gain the experience and you will hear the stories to advocate for solutions. The tactics I use to mobilize others is through social media. I can reach thousands of people that way and the message stay relevant. My advice to future leaders is to be relatable, be good listeners, be empathetic and be fierce. This is hard work but it pays off handsomely.

Advocacy Action Overview

Advocacy Action Overview


I did not have specific instructions as to what I should post from my professor as my assignment, so I will take the title of the assignment and make a post.

Advocacy is the process of changing something whether it be an ideology, a program, a narrative or belief system. If change must occur advocacy has a role. For change to come about people have to be informed about the issue. Once you complete the research about the issue, you can then talk about the facts. Spreading the information via social media, through news outlets and through presentations to the community are ways to win people over. Effective advocacy may influence policy decision makers and reform existing issues.

Some techniques and strategies of advocacy are fundraising, researching data, forming coalitions, and identifying the audience to be targeted for best results. An advocacy strategy should be created and then an advocacy objective. Data and research should be done for an advocacy issue. Also, an advocacy message should be created to grab the audience's attention that has been identified. Lastly, evaluating advocacy efforts should be part of the strategy as well.


Reference

Sharma, R. R. (n.d.). An introduction to advocacy: Training guide. Washington, DC: The Academy for Educational Development, SARA Project.

Educational Development, SARA Project.

Advocacy Messages

Advocacy Messages

I am passionate about early childhood literacy. Below are some advocacy messages that I think are important and will make a difference.

Literacy first

This would be a good campaign and will send a message to the community about putting books first; instead of watching  television or playing with tablets or the computer.

Laying a foundation that matters

This campaign would teach parents how important it is to be intentional with their children in teaching them critical skills and shaping their brain.

Love Matters

 This campaign will push people into just being human and loving on each other.

Profile of a Volunteer

Profile of a Volunteer


I am going to profile myself.

I have volunteered in my church, Kingdom Life Ministries, for over ten years as a youth worker for middle and high school students. I teach Wednesday bible youth class and have taught Sunday school in the past. I have taken youth on camp retreats and outdoor activities. I have also created and participated in youth service on Sundays involving the whole congregation. Many youth have spent tireless night at my house and many children shave had some of my famous dishes.

My volunteering efforts have touched many children. I have seen children and families go through high school and off to college or getting married and having kids of their own. I am always especially proud to see these children still standing on a firm foundation of Christ after they have graduated from High School. Some children come back to tell me how much of an impact that I have made in their life by not giving up on them and just listening to their problems without judgement.

I think my work has impacted others because I was so patient with them.  I built a rapport with them so that I could gain their trust. After I had their trust then I could begin the work of helping them. Some of them just needed a mentor and so I was that as well. I spent several hours a week with these children besides the regular service times. I really love these kids!

I think the vital take-away message is advocating for someone or something always has benefits and outcomes. I always try to make my youth feel appreciated and important, build their self-esteem and instill confidence. I feel as if I am the voice for children and that's why I advocate for them. Advocacy is needed in this country so that children do not feel alone.

Advocacy Through Advertising

Advocacy Through Advertising

Storytelling is a great way to advertise your cause on social media. It pushes visibility and awareness. For example, my church has a CDC that promotes an organization called the Deborah House. The Deborah House advocates for single mothers of color, the homeless and addresses the housing issue in west Michigan. They post stories of success and pictures of the children that are in these families that are also successful because of the program.

Whether it’s Face Book live, Instagram stories, Periscope, or Twitter, people want to put a face to the issue. We are also able to pull on people’s heartstrings when we tell stories and it is a great way to raise funds for our advocacy efforts. Facebook is a great way to promote events and reach the public. Pinterest is a great tool to target women. LinkedIn is a great tool to target professionals. We can use YouTube, we can blog, we can tweet links to articles and use hashtags to let people know what our interests are and to join the movement.  We ultimately direct people to our website by using these platforms.

For policymakers, engaging in social media keeps their constituents informed of upcoming visits, speeches and meetings. This is a great way for them to interact with the communities they serve. YouTube gives policymakers a chance to share speeches and make announcements. If your advocacy effort is about education, like mines is, you can tweet the secretary of education and post your story on the U.S. Department of Education Face Book page. We can also interact with education reporters and editors around the world. The focus of this is to reach mass public and educate them about your cause.

Reference

Kidwai, S., & Imperatore, C. (2011). How to Use Social Media as an Advocacy Tool. Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, 86(6), 36–39. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ943158&site=eds-live&scope=site

Personal Advocacy Reflection

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I am the youngest of my siblings and was always jokingly mistreated. This treatment was unintentional from my siblings; they were just having fun by always teasing me and doing a lot of name calling. However, I was also being teased and bullied at school as well and I had no one advocating for me. My mom had me at a late age, so she allowed my older sister to take care of me most of the time. My sister was eleven years older than me. This left a scaring in me and resentment. My thoughts were to never allow anyone to tease me or mistreat me. This transformed into an attitude of being upset whenever I heard or witnessed anyone being mistreated or taken advantage of and then I must act. Since I didn’t have anyone advocating for me growing up, this started my journey of advocacy. I stood up for everyone when I was growing up and in my adult life.

One story I have is about my sister-in-law who is very meek and docile. One of her son’s girlfriend was very disrespectful towards her and the situation became a threat to her health because she became very upset which made her ill. Her blood pressure became dangerously high and she was admitted into the hospital. Her son wanted to marry this girl, but my sister-in-law did not approve because the girl was verbally and physically abusive to her son.  I immediately contacted this girl and told her how all of this was wrong and how it affected my sister-in-law. This girl apologized and admitted things got out of control. When my sister-in-law got out of the hospital, I begin to advocate for her and called a family meeting to create a safe space so that everyone could get their thoughts out. My sister-in-law felt safe and was able to speak her mind. When she felt intimidated I was there to support her so that they could get everything resolved. The girl did not feel she was being disrespectful or abusive. She grew up with her dad being disrespectful and abusive to her mom, so she thought this was the norm. We were able to hear all sides, apologies were made, recommendations were made for counseling and the family became unified.