Profile of a Volunteer

·         Describe the volunteer efforts of the person you have elected to profile.

The person that I elected to profile is a friend she is not an early childhood practitioner, but the actions that she offers as a volunteer are some that benefit children and families. She is president of an organization that mentors to women who have experienced domestic violence as well as young girls and boys who are experiencing or have seen domestic violence. She councils these individuals on ways to have healthy relationships with others that is free from the experienced violence.  The organization is entitled “Beautifully Spirited Women”.

·         Identify how you feel this person's work has positively impacted others.

She has impacted individuals by providing them with proper education and support on their issue. Her organization also volunteers in the community with places like hospitals, and nursing homes. They hosted events for the public to become aware of what they do and to teach individuals skills about self-esteem and worth to help them realize they deserve better for their lives as well as their families.

·         Describe what you feel is a vital "take-away" message relative to this work in terms of your own volunteer efforts and advocacy work in fostering the well-being of children and families.

She truly gives me the energy to continue on my quest to “save the children of the world”! All the efforts that she contributed to the community is inspiring with her being a mother and raising her son to be a great young man. Her time is always limited but she always finds time in her busy schedule to serve her community. I wake up daily with the zeal to do so because of her mentally as well. I want to reach out beyond the scope of my element like early childhood practitioners but to the entire community so they will all stand up and take notice. I want there to be awareness from the  judge and his courtroom to the engineer in the fortune 500 company. 

Using Social Media to Get Connected

·         Provide a brief overview of your past and present experience with social media.

o    I have several social media accounts. The purpose of the accounts was to socialize with friends and families, but then I began to see a shift in the tides of how social media was starting to be used. It began to shift towards advertisement. 

·         Describe what social media tools you feel lend themselves to effective advocacy.

o    The factor of using social media for advertising makes it easy for others to share their agendas and find others who feel the same as they do. The one thing about social media it’s a place where you can express your personal feelings.

·         Identify how you might use these social media tools to educate and inspire others in your advocacy work.

o    You can create your own pages for whatever topic you want. I would use others that I already know we have a shared interest to share with then we can all advocate for the same issue. Then pairing with other grassroots organizations within our community can create a coalition for our advocacy issue. 

·         Ask your colleagues for their suggestions and/or their help with using social media as a tool to promote advocacy efforts.

o    What suggestions would you use to market your idea, or which social media outlet would you deem best?

o    Seeing as that there are several social media outlets and some geared towards professional and just personal which would be the best route you think would do justice for advocacy. 

Advocacy through Advertisement

The issue of Preventable accidents is something that not a lot of people pay attention too. The most common potential preventable accidents are children drowning in pools, not wearing car seats, or seat belts, and wearing protective gear when playing with riding toys. Sadly, more children die from preventable accidents in the US, more than anything else . That's why making efforts to show awareness of preventable accidents can help prevent these deaths.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBe4FrifjzI


Disney also made ads to advocate for the safetyof children while riding in the car.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7oNF/nhtsa-and-ad-council-cinderella-car-safety

My Own Capacity

o    Which issues impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood fuel your passion?

    *   The issue that impacts the field of Early Childhood is the way quality is measured for centers and its effectiveness of measurement. 

o    What special skills do you have that will contribute to your advocacy efforts? How will you incorporate these skills into your work?

      *    I have the knowledge of how child care assessments work. I have assessed and graded centers on their quality; however the system is flawed in measures.

o    What resources do you have at your disposal that can benefit your advocacy work?

       *  I have knowledge of the books and have studied the alternative notes that coincide. I have also listed to groups of individuals who have come with different ways to improve assessment of quality. 

o    What knowledge, skills, dispositions, and/or talents do you possess that will contribute to your advocacy work?

       *    I have creative skills to make assessments fair and fun for teachers.  I also have knowledge of Developmentally Appropriate Practices for different age children. 

o    In what ways do you hope to grow in order to be a more effective advocate?

*    I want to gain more information on the administration of child care to see what barriers cause them to not provide the best quality care.