An Introduction to Advocacy

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is active promotion of a cause or principle

Advocacy involves actions that lead to a selected goal

Advocacy is one of many possible strategies, or ways to approach a problem

Advocacy can be used as part of a school or community initiative, nested in with other components.

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/advocacy-principles/overview/main

What ISN’T Advocacy?

Advocacy is not direct service

Advocacy does not necessarily involve confrontation or conflict

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/advocacy-principles/overview/main

Examples of Advocacy vs. Service

You join a group at school that helps collects books for needy students. That's a service.

You develop a plan and speak to the school board to get a portion of the discarded books from previous materials adoptions donated to local food banks to be given to families. That's advocacy.

You spend your Saturdays with students helping sort out goods at the recycling center. That's a service.

You discover that your school does not recycle paper. You speak to the administration and district supervisors about a recycling plan. You get support from a local recycling company to implement a recycling program for paper in your school. That's advocacy.

Based on http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/advocacy-principles/overview/main

Defining Advocacy

Advocacy is an on-going process of building partnerships so that others will act for and with you, turning passive support into educated action.

Based on the definition from the AASL