This is part of the Healthy Child Blog Carnival – an effort by Healthy Child Healthy World to help inspire a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Linda Aslund
An advocate is a person who speaks or writes in favor of something they believe in. I am an advocate. By definition I am a trained advocate-three years of law school will do that to most anyone. However, for the purposes of this post I am not talking about advocacy in the legal context-speaking on behalf of another person and their beliefs. I am talking advocacy as it relates to us individually and as a community; supporting causes and initiatives that help find better ways to create healthy environments for our children. You are an advocate. We can all be advocates for causes we believe in-no need to sign up for law school.
Advocacy can take on several forms, each represents a different approach in the way change is brought into society. It’s not always about marching or protesting-although sometimes that can be effective. There are ways to incorporate advocacy into your everyday life.
10 things I do to promote healthy lifestyles for families in my community and beyond:
- Use Groovy Green Livin as a forum for educating and sharing green ideas, thoughts and other useful tips and trends relating to living a greener, healthier lifestyle.
- Create a healthy environment in my own home-I try to act as a role model and do my best to create a healthy environment for my children in my own home.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Theresa Thompson
- Register to vote.
- Use my voice to be heard on issues I care about.
- Know who my elected representatives are-do you know who your senators and congressmen are? Get to know your legislators and their views on the issues important to you.
- Sign petitions which support causes that are near and dear to my heart.
- Talk casually with neighbors, friends and family about issues that are important to me.
- Embrace discussions with those that have different beliefs.
- Raise funds for causes I believe in.
- Continually educate myself on issues through sites like Healthy Child Healthy World and pass the information along.
The opportunity to advocate for change is all around us. If each of us commits to making small, simple changes in our lives, together we can create a healthier, safer space for living and ultimately a healthier planet for us all.
How do you advocate to improve the health of your community?
