Exploring CDF (Children's Defense Fund)

Exploring this organization is very helpful and encourages me to strive to make a difference. The section of their website that is relevant to my current professional development is the "Take Action" section and here is why;
Being an advocate and the voice for our children is very important to me. The "Take Action" tab guides you to reach out to elected officials, demanding them to commit to helping and providing for children. 

As I was reading information on their website, I came across statements that made me think about an issue in a new way:
"Each week, 350 children and teens are killed or injured by guns; enough to fill 14 more classrooms of 25 students. What have we become as a people when even in the face of such sin and suffering, we continue to protect guns before children?"
This indeed makes much sense, as many of our children around the world are killed or injured every year from guns and violence. It is unfortunate that some of our children are not present in the classroom setting because their lives have been taking away so sudden, or in some cases, some are in prison due to having access or using a gun.


In one of my previous post, I shared that Hillary Clinton has contributed to this organization a great deal. As I continue to read about her dedication for children, this adds to my understanding of how politicians support the early childhood field. In fact, Children's Defense Fund (2012) stated that, "In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to assist working families with the cost of providing child care."

A  new insight that I have gained from this website regarding issues and trends in the early childhood field, is that children who experience poverty and are African American or Latino, are at a higher risk of going to prison in their later years. CDF offers prevention and intervention programs for the youth, guiding them towards college and a more positive adulthood.

God, please protect our youth and future leaders.....

Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/index-1.html

Great News!

Well, almost.

 After failing to receive feedback and collaborations from organizations that I have contacted through e-mails, I finally decided to call one of the organizations for better results. I called UNICEF directly and had to wait over 15 minutes for a representative to take my call. The reason being is because they were experiencing high call volumes. After the wait was over, I had the opportunity to communicate with Laura Priette. She stated that she was not the person I needed to talk to however, and left a note to the appropriate professional with my name and number, who I can collaborate with throughout the rest of the course. Laura stated that the person should be contacting me soon, but I have yet to hear from her. Laura mostly deals with taking donations for UNICEF but wanted to help me as much as possible with questions I had regarding the organization. While on the phone, she collaborated with me that UNICEF is very sensitive about children and families who are going through poverty and strives to contribute to their needs in every way. Access to clean water, a good education, and medical attention is just a few of the contributions they provide. She shared that throughout the world, children will fail tremendously in their education if their health and well being is not in the best shape. Laura has not met the families who are struggling through poverty personally, but the stories that are shared from her co-workers and volunteers are very touching and encourages her to continue to make a difference in the organization.

I have learned that poverty is a very serious issue and should not be taken lightly. So many children across the world are suffering from starvation and because of this, their education suffers. I always say, if the brain is not healthy, a child cannot perform to his/her fullest potential.

I thanked Laura and told her I really appreciate her for taking out her time to communicate with me about this issue. Hopefully I will hear from the other professional soon to receive more helpful insights.

Stay tuned.....

CDF Organization

http://www.childrensdefense.org/

The organization I have selected as a resource and to stay current with their events is the Children's Defense Fund. As mentioned in my previous post, I was employed with a Freedom School program in Jackson, Mississippi for a summer. Although I loved working with the children and staff, I was not aware of the background regarding the program and will now use this opportunity to study the program and to view what their main goals consist of.

CDF focuses on lifting children out of poverty, abuse, and makes sure that all children have access to quality education and health care. They also advocate for children to be their voices and to ensure that people around the nation will know that children are always a priority. In fact, CDF pays close attention to minority children and those with special needs. That is to say, this resource is related to this week's topic as Dr. Grace mentioned that the minority is now becoming the majority.

One current event that caught my attention is that Hillary Clinton was once a staff, board member and chairwoman with CDF. This fall, the organization will honor her for her commitment and dedication towards the organization as an advocate. This is new insight for me; I had no idea that Hillary has made a huge contribution to the organization.





When I was employed as a summer worker for the program, we received shirts with this quote on the back. Isn't this the sweetest quote ever? :)

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing professional contacts around the world is very beneficial in the education field. One will have the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with others while forming relationships. Thus far, I have been unsuccessful in contacting anyone from the two websites that were provided in the blog resources. Firstly, I did not try to reach out to the two professionals outside the world until Wednesday. I was very focused on my discussion assignment at this time and had no idea what was to come for the blog assignment. Once I started my assignment, I emailed each of them introducing myself and what questions or concerns I had regarding their organizations. After emailing UNICEF, the organization emailed me the next day with the following message:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your message.
Regrettably, due to the volume of such requests that we receive and the volume of work we have here at UNICEF's global headquarters, we cannot devote staff time to respond in depth to all messages. We greatly regret that this is the case.
However, we believe that our website is an excellent source of information on UNICEF-related issues. We would kindly encourage you to revisit our website (www.unicef.org) and, in the Search box, perform a search using key words related to your topic. That will yield many results and get you off to a very good start.
Again, we are sorry we cannot be of more direct assistance.
Sincerely,
UNICEF"

My next goal will include to contact them again and hope for better results. I have yet to hear from the other organzation and will continue to contact them. At this point, I will proceed with this approach and will not use alternative to part 1. Also, the website I will study is the Children's Defense Fund. While scanning through the other websites, it was a no brainier for me to choose this organization because I had the opportunity to work for them as a work-study student in college. This will be a perfect opportunity for me to research their goals and achievements and will remain current with their organization.

One helpful tip I will provide for my colleagues is to not hesitate to contact the professionals. Get a head start, as some organizations are very busy responding to others and may delay a reply to you.

This assignment will be very interesting; I'm ready for the new knowledge I will gain from my contacts around the world.

My Supports

What supports you daily and keeps you fluent and going?

For me, my daily support comes from writing on my grocery list and dancing at least 30 minutes a day. I know you're wondering, how is this supportative? As I mentioned in a previous post, dancing is therapy for me and releases stress. In the moment of dancing, I feel free of the world as my mind is clear at that point and allows me to refresh. As a benefit of dancing, I am able to tone my body muscles and burn unwanted body fat and calories. Without dancing, it would be very difficult to function without it as this is my means of support. I don't think I would be as calm as I am today if dancing did not exist in my life. In addition, writing on my grocery list is very important to me. It allows me to remember everything that I need to buy for that particular month. I started this because it was a habit for me to walk in the store and immediately forget most of the things that I am suppose to buy. To keep from doing this, I began to make a list and write down things that I need as I go on with my daily routines. From that point on, I haven't had any problems with forgetting items whenever I go shopping. Without this list, I would continue to walk into the store and forget what I need and will have to make an extra trip back to the store. Gas is too high for that right?

Support is definately needed when challenges occur. For instance, finishing a masters degree is a challenge but I would hope that my family and friends will continue to support and encourage my efforts. Even now, they remind me that all hard work pays off and if you want anything in life, you have to accept the challenges that comes along with it. Positive vibes and words of encouragement are benefits to have as it pushes you to accomplish your goals for success. Without this support, it would be very difficult to execute my full potential and will not have the motivation to flourish and prosper.

Having support is a vital tool in life. As you can see, support doesn't have to necessarily be a person, it can very well be your favorite skill or an object.

My Connections to Play

"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning." -Diane Ackerman

      Children learn much about their identity during "play time". It is a very essential tool for them to engage in and is very rewarding with positive benefits; able to solve problems, great social skills, build muscles, create ideas, etc. Being involved in fun activities played a very important role in my childhood. Believe it or not, during the holidays, I would write and direct short plays for my little brother and sister so that we could perform them for my mom. I had no idea that it would have an impact on me later in life; I studied theatre, directed and wrote a play, and performed a few shows while in college. I found joy and excitement in writing plays and pretending to be someone else when it was time to perform them. Play enhanced my writing and entertainment skills and prepared me for college.

My first barbie doll ever was this exact Brandy doll! This was one of my most memorable moments as a child and just looking at this picture brings back those warm feelings!

 This was so much fun! I loved pretending to cook and prepare food for my invisible guest!

My mother supported my play habits as a child. She allowed me the opportunity to be myself when I engaged in play and would usually let my little brother, sister, and myself engage in play after school until it was bed time. Unfortunately, play for children today has changed tremendously. Now, children feel that play time is texting, taking pictures on cellular devices, engaging in social networking sites, singing songs with explicit lyrics, etc. My hope for young children who find excitement in this type of play is that it doesn't influence them when they become adults and also hope that parents would make the decision to keep their children away from these things.

The role of play throughout my life has enhanced so many skills; writing, directing, acting, social, and communication. Without this tool, I would not have had the opportunity to explore and figure out what it is I would love to do as an adult.

"In our play, we reveal what kind of people we are." -Ovid

Check out a few more pics below of the many toys I used during play time;

   

 

Relationship Reflection

Never explain yourself. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe it -Anonymous


Relationships and friendships are very beautiful pieces in life, as we all need someone to share our happiness, sadness and joy with. That alone is why relationships and partnerships are so important. Some relationships are short lived but there are some that are long lasting and can leave an impact on your life. I will share a few of those people who I have a positive relationship with which has influenced my life.

Without God, I am nothing. He is truly the head of my life and a true friend indeed. In life, sadness and pain is guaranteed but a word with him is comforting and eases the many tribulations in life. My personal relationship has grown stronger over the years with him. When all else fails and there is no one there to talk to, I know that I can lean on him for understanding and comfort. We continue to maintain our relationship as I respectfully follow his path and he showers down his many blessings on me; signaling that I am doing a good deed.

This is my cousin and most of all, my best friend. We have been the best of friends since we were babies, literally! She has always taught me to pray more and worry less when things get a little rough. We enjoyed our childhood, highs chool, and now our adulthood years together. I couldn't imagine not having a friend like her on my side. We love to have fun and laugh all the time when we're together. Today, we continue to talk about our problems or issues that we may be facing in life, to show that we are still there for one another. I thank God for placing such an amazing young woman in my life.

My college experience was very stressful, but there are two individuals who were there to consol me. Financially, I was broken, but they took me under their wing and helped me with anything I needed. The many laughs and gatherings we had were very helpful during that stressful time. They encouraged me to hang in there and to finish up my education for better opportunities. Even now, we are still able to have a good time when we are together, inspiring each other to accomplish our many goals. A true friendship indeed; one that I will always cherish and be thankful for.

Who says I can't have a relationship with what I love doing? Dance is therapy for me and allows me to step out of my element for a while and be free from the world. It is so powerful, and has been apart of my life since I was a little girl. I love everything about it; the soreness it brings to my body and the sweat that touches my body which burns the unwanted fat and calories :) Our relationship continues to grow as I use it as a tool to stay in shape and to live a healthy lifestyle. I am in love with dance, and dance is in love with me. We have history!

This young man here is my father. We did not have the best of a relationship; in fact, we didn't have a relationship at all. I often times would shed tears when I was a little girl, wondering why my dad was not present in my life as much as he should. I was very active in middle school and high school in extra curriculum activities and I always wanted him to attend events to see my many talents. I am happy to say that my dad is now my father (there is a difference), and I can call him a friend. I am very comfortable when I talk with him and feel very relaxed and accomplished when we communicate together. We are working on building our relationship as we continue to communicate through our many text messages and family functions. This is something I've been wanting and waiting for all my life and I am happy that we can overlook the past and focus on the future.

This handsome guy here is the love of my life. I've never been so comfortable around a person until I met this individual. I can be open and free with him and he loves everything about it. Even when I'm a bit moody and grumpy, he is there to hold me and assure me that everything will be okay. He makes life worth living and I appreciate him for being so supportive of me in everything I desire. He is a loving father, firefighter, and most of all, a friend. If we have a problem in our relationship, we talk it out and build a deeper understanding of each other. He has made a huge impact in my life, allowing me to love again and to be comfortable in my own skin. I continue to Love everything about him.

Communication is the key to any relationship. Without it, I have learned that this can hinder a relationship and can make it very challenging to maintain. The relationships I have shared are true partnerships as I am able to communicate with each of them, come to for comfort and provide comfort to, and are very supportive people in my life. With this experience, I can use this as a tool in my career and will leave an impact on my work as a professional. In the education field, it is important to build relationships with families and I am comfortable with taking on the challenge in building a foundation with them. A strong relationship with families is a good way to make the child feel comfortable in his or her school work, creating success and a prosperous future. This will not only have an impact on families and children, but myself as well.