The Power of Children’s Voices
April 1, 2015 was the 33rd annual Child Advocacy Day at the Capitol. There were over 100 strong from Missouri KIDS COUNT in attendance from New Madrid County to Kansas City, from Joplin to St. Louis, and places in between! Below are photos of the day as well as quotes from several of our partnerships sharing their experiences of the day. Following this reflection on Child Advocacy Day, we talk more about children as advocates on a national and international level.
“Four Washington County Community Partnership Board members attended Child Advocacy Day April 1st with the Director. Not only did we enjoy speaking out on behalf of Missouri’s children, but we also learned more details about the legislative process in the House gallery. Thank you Rep. Kathryn Swan for making that possible and thank you to our local representatives Ben Harris, Paul Fitzwater and Sen. Gary Romine for being so open and accessible.”
– Deborah Bust – Washington County
“Missouri Child Advocacy Day was a great opportunity to hear the stories from other agencies and organizations and to see how they are helping children and families in Missouri. The best thing about the day was to know that every child DOES matter to the people sitting at the tables at this event and sharing their important information at #MOCAD2015. We’re all in this together!”
– Martha Edwards, Phelps County
“ARCHS was excited to be part of this year’s Child Advocacy Day. We were able to spend time with our legislators telling the story of how we serve more than 90,000 at-risk children and their families through quality education and social service programs at more than 275 St. Louis area locations.”
– Steven Brawley, ARCHS
“This was my first child advocacy day. It was very informative and taught me a lot about advocacy and standing up for the rights of children. It was very encouraging to see so many people fighting for the children of Missouri and their futures.”
– Lacey Matney, The Alliance of Southwest Missouri
“Mississippi County Caring Communities Partnership found it enjoyable to connect with so many other partnerships throughout the state on Child Advocacy Day, such a worthy cause. New ideas of outreach for our county and some great connections were made during the day.”
– Dana Brown-Ellis, Mississippi County
“It’s always a huge-impact event when community partnerships come together for a common cause. The collaboration, the dedication to our missions, and willingness to share resources is always a huge benefit. I think we sometimes forget how much influence we can have and how many things are better because of what we all do. It is truly humbling to be a part of this great group.”
– Tom Davisson, Cape Girardeau
“The 2015 Child Advocacy Day provided a great opportunity for the Local Investment Commission (LINC) to connect with youth workers throughout the state to learn about other programs and share ideas.”
– Andrew Weisberg, Local Investment Commission
“I attended Child Advocacy Day with The Alliance of Southwest Missouri. This being my first time, I was shocked at the number of people who attended. What a wonderful thing to be a part of.”
– Harriett Scobee, The Alliance of Southwest Missouri
“The New Madrid County Community Partnership attended the 2015 Child Advocacy Day at the Capital and had an awesome experience!! Not only did we get to share our stories and success on behalf of the families we serve, but we learned so much in a day’s time. Community members and staff who have never visited the Capital were given the opportunity to watch a House debate, tour the Capital, visit with their legislator and see first hand all the great work being done.
– Tonya Carruth Vannasdall, New Madrid County
“With our presence en masse, legislators—and everyone at the Capitol—were able to sense the strength of children’s advocacy in the state.”
“Armed with Kids Count data, we were able to meet one-on-one with our legislators and discuss the important issues that affect child well-being in our district.”
“Our legislators have the ability to improve the lives of children and families in our communities. Advocacy day helped us show them they can be heroes.”
– St. Joseph Youth Alliance
“It was good to meet our district representatives, and understand the political process on more of a local level. I’m more aware of the issues and focus at the capitol as it regards to child advocacy. It was also good to see all different groups supporting the cause, such as the dental schools, pharmacy, all the organizations which come together to support child advocacy.”
– Sarah Weber, Local Investment Commission
“It was great to see the Community Partnerships in a collective group, working outside their offices to educate and reinforce the importance of all of our programs. We are all unique organizations, but when we come together our strengths merge and we seek to do the right thing on behalf of the kids and families that we support in the state of Missouri.”
– Mark Long, Phelps County
“The Child Advocacy Day was such an inspirational time to see how many people are working for children and the innovative resources that are out there to assist children and their families!”
– Ripley County Caring Community Partnership
“There’s a radical – and wonderful – new idea here… that all children could and should be inventors of their own theories, critics of other people’s ideas, analyzers of evidence, and makers of their own personal marks on the world. It’s an idea with revolutionary implications. If we take it seriously.“
– Deborah Meier, Founder of the Small Schools Movement
All children and particularly teenagers can be some of the most effective advocates, persuading us more easily and affecting us more profoundly than almost any other age group can. We don’t make it easy for them to advocate, but when they do speak and act, we notice.
This month we highlight young people advocating for themselves, their community, their concerns and their desires. Youth are engaging globally and locally, and we honor their efforts by telling some of their stories.
Our Community Partnerships and Youth Advocacy
Click on an image to read a story of advocacy from our Community Partnerships.
Advocacy in Missouri
The State Youth Advisory Board (SYAB) is a leadership and advocacy board comprised of youth who are in foster care from across the state. The SYAB provides input to the Children’s Division and other Child Welfare agencies on programs and policies. Youth on the board receive leadership training and are peer leaders to local youth advisory boards. The board decides what goals and activities they want to pursue. Members participate in youth panels, trainings, workgroups, and conferences at various times throughout the year. Board members are age 15-21 but represent all youth who are in foster care.
Click here to read more about the Youth Advisory Board.
Advocacy Through Video
In Oakland California, an organization called YouthSpeaks encourages and assists Oakland teens to create videos about issues in their neighborhoods. The issues range from gang violence to soda marketing and the youth voices tell authentic stories from a fresh lens.
Click here to view some of these powerful videos
Around the World
This month we highlight young people advocating for themselves, their community, their concerns and their desires. Youth are engaging globally and locally, and we honor their efforts by telling some of their stories.
Click here to read more about Malala’s story.
In 1992 Severn Cullis-Suzuki, a young girl from Canada, spoke in front of a United National Summit panel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As part of a group of 12 and 13 year old advocates in Canada, she spoke of the importance of caring for our environment so that future generations would have a place to live, work, and play. In her words “you are not what you say, but what you do” was her ending sentiment to this gathering of world leaders, reminding them of the importance and influence of their actions.
Click here to watch the full testimony.
Growing Our Future Leaders
The voices of young people can inspire older generations by giving new perspective and illustrating resilience. Trust the children in your community enough to give them a voice. Empower them so they know their voices are valuable. Position them so that they can become future leaders. When we give children a voice, we open up endless possibilities for change.
April 9, 2015
