Weekly Digest: July 31, 2008

Online Advocacy Toolkit

Connect for Kids is an online resource that provides information and tools to help visitors learn about issues affecting children, families, and communities and to take action to improve policies and programs.  Connect for Kids is managed by the Forum for Youth Investment.  In 2007, Connect for Kids joined forces with Child Advocacy 360 to continue to provide articles and annotations of “best of the Web” child-focused content.

The site offers a number of Toolkits, including a Toolkit for Funding, Toolkits for Community Change and a Toolkit for Action (among many others). 

The Toolkit for Action offers the following topic areas:

An Insider's "Top Ten" Guide to Legislative Advocacy
Tips on Telephoning Your Representatives
Tips on Writing Elected Officials
Communicating with the White House
Visiting Legislators in Their Home Districts
How a Federal Bill Becomes a Law (Or Not)
How To Get Copies of Bills and Committee Reports
Writing Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor
Fact Sheets and Action Alerts
Links to Action Alerts
Data and Statistics

To download the Toolkit for Action, visit the Connect for Kids site at http://www.connectforkids.org/node/2694

To see the many other resources offered on the site visit Connect for Kids at http://www.connectforkids.org/

Strategies for Success in Local Early Childhood Parent Outreach Activities Among Diverse Cultures

The National Parent Center Network (PACER) has published three handouts for professionals, including Strategies for Success in Local Early Childhood Parent Outreach Activities Among Diverse Cultures , which provides step-by-step information on reaching out in the community among diverse cultures.

This brief can downloaded at the PACER website at http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHP-c132.pdf

Voices for America Report: Increasing State Investments in Early Care & Education

This report highlights the work of 11 Voices for America member organizations in ten states which have recently passed an early care and education legislative initiative. The report describes the progress made on increasing access to quality early learning opportunities throughout the country and provides detailed accounts of advocacy strategies used for doing so.

To download this report, visit the Voices for America website at http://www.voices.org/uploads/VoicesECEStrategies.pdf