My Role as an Advocate

What motivated you to start advocating for very young children? 
At a very young age, I volunteered at my church for Sunday school. From there, I developed the interest in wanting to work with children. I expanded on wanting to work with children in my young adult years. As I entered my collegiate years, I decided to major in education in order to understand how to represent children and families.  


Why is it essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well as the macro level? In order to have effective advocacy efforts, we all must comprehend the "root" of advocacy, understanding the pro's vs the con's.

 
What does it take to be a community leader on early childhood issues?
 To me, an community leader must be informed of all early childhood issues at all times. Being knowledgeable with issues in the field will demonstrate to families the community leader knows exactly what is going on.

 What resources does it take to be a state leader on early childhood issues? The resources it takes to be a state leader on ECE issues is to be informed and communicate with the state  CCRR's, the ECE state agencgies, and the state ECE associations. When effective communication are in correspondence with the state leader(s) and state agencies the outcome will demonstrate the results.
 


What tactics or strategies do you use to mobilize others? The tactics/strategies I used to mobilize others is to be involved in effective communication and the art of listening. When we listen to each other we learn a lot therefore listening along with effective communication will give me the opportunity to inform others about ECE.

 
What advice would you give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families?
As I reflect on why I have an interest in an leadership role in advocating for young children and families the advice I would give is that the person would have to be a dedicated hard worker, and never give up. I started being active in my community at the young age of 8 yrs old due to my grandmother's involvement in the community. My grandmother was an community leader and activist. Her countless efforts to educate and inform all children and families in the community was priceless.
 After having time to ponder and reflect since the passing of my grandmother, I am grateful to be groomed into a leadership role because my past has definitely prepared me for the present which will now assist me for my future.   

Personal Advocacy Reflection

One day, my friend and I were having lunch together. The family sitting behind us were discussion where to enroll the new baby into child care programs. My daughter kept asking to see the baby so the mother heard my daughter, and told me she can come to the table and say hello. By my daughter being so persistent, this lead me to have the conversations about child care resources and referral agencies. I engaged in small talk with the new mother. I told her how my daughter was born premature and the mother said so was her son. The mother explained she was seeking a child care program but was nervous due to the fact her son was a premature baby. I discussed with the mother about the CCRR'S on how they can assist her with seeking a child care program that will fix her son's needs. I also informed the mother to contact SSI and the health department to see if her son qualifies for any services/ resources programs that can educate the parents on premature babies such as their weight, eye sight, hearing etc. The mother was overwhelmed with all the information I had given her, we exchanged contact information. 
Just to see the look on her face with all the information her or her family was not aware of was priceless. We are all unique individuals but when we work together it is a beautiful color of people. 

Advocacy Action Overview

Tools for Policy Makers: 1/10/15


For this week assignment, I am learning the key elements of characteristics of advocating for  early childhood education. I would like to make more of a effort in learning how to advocate at the local,  state, federal levels for ECE field. I know each system has a process and I want to utilize all tools for advocating to the best of my abilities for ECE providers, professionals, and most of all the children.

Thanks,
Brittney E.