Profile of a Volunteer

 The volunteer I have elected to profile would be my great grandfather. Before he passed away, he volunteered in church and at many community events. His presence was truly amazing and he has always been my hero.  He mentored many young kids over the years and gave them the love and guidance that they were not receiving from others.  He gave selflessly of himself every day.  Even when he was in pain or down on his luck, he took the time to help others. Without him, I feel as though a lot of young people's lives would have been completely different. He helped many see that they were valued and loved and that through Christ, nothing was impossible.

A vital "take-away" message relative to this work in terms of my own volunteer efforts and advocacy work in fostering the well-being of children and families is to always have a positive attitude and do it because you want to and not because you have to.

Using Social Media to Get Connected

Currently the only social media that I use is Facebook.  I use it to keep in contact with friends and family that I do not get to talk to often.  I feel like Facebook is a great media tool that lends itself to effective advocacy because it reaches millions of people at one time. It also makes it possible to reach people all over the world, if used properly.  I could post positive messages and concerns as a way to educate and inspire others in my advocacy work. I know that many people view my page and it is my responsibility to make sure that everything that is read on my page is positive and educational or at least not negative.

What do you feel is the best social media site to use to advocate for children and families?

Avocacy Messages

Autism Speaks:
Toni Braxton: Odds of having 3 multi-platinum albums  1/1,650,000
                      Odds of having a child diagnosed with autism 1/88 

Using celebrities causes people to pay attention to the message they are delivering. It cause them to want to learn more and to take action

Fatherhood Involvement:
Take time to be a dad today.

Messages that are short and to the point stick in people's heads and then they choose to take action whether conscientiously or subconsciously.

Bullying Prevention:
Teach your kids how to stop bullying and be more than a bystander.

My Own Capacity

I apologize for my blog being late but I have been battling strep throat and a 102.5 temperature for the last few days.

The issue impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood that fuels my passion would have to be childhood abuse and malnutrition.  In the society we live in today, there are many resources out there for families and children so there is no reason why a child should go without in the United States.

I posses many skills that will contribute to my advocacy work.  The first is the ability to be patient followed by my determination.  I also have a need for knowledge and change.

I hope to grow to to become a more effect advocate by gaining a better appreciation for research and its process.  I currently hate researching so I hope to gain more knowledge and appreciation for it.