.
Suggested Group Activity
Restaurants and markets often pack food in paper bags. Your group can decorate those bags to send a message not to litter.
Suggested Prerequisite
Completing the Citizen Volunteer Patch Program® is a suggested prerequisite for earning your Citizen Advocate Patch. Your volunteer experience will help provide you with the knowledge needed to advocate for improved wellness for the people in your community. You can also opt to complete the Citizen Volunteer requirements during the time you earn this patch.
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Requirement 1: Research It!
Things to find out:
- What is civic volunteerism? Helpful Link: Civic Engagement
- Why should you volunteer? Helpful Link: Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits
- How do you get people to volunteer? Helpful Link: How to get more Americans to volunteer
- Why don’t people volunteer? Helpful Link: Three reasons why people don’t volunteer, and what can be done about it.
- What type of volunteer activities are the most popular? Helpful Link: Where Do You Volunteer?
- Who volunteers? Helpful Link: Stats reveal how many Americans volunteer and where
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Requirement 2: Do It!
Choose a civic issue to advocate for. Some ideas:
- Advocate to your neighbors to get out to vote.
- Promote attendance at Board of education meetings.
- Create a social media campaign for a local volunteer project.
- Get your friends involved in a community event.
- Make your neighbors aware of local politicians and their policies
- Get students to join an after-school volunteer organization.
Who do you want to reach? Some ideas:
- Your Family
- Neighbors
- Politicians — Helpful link: How to Contact Your Elected Officials
- Classmates
- Your Fellow Worshipers
- Other Groups or Organizations
How will you reach them? Helpful link: How to Advocate for Your Cause
Some Ideas:
- Talk to them. Consider wearing a button as a conversation starter.
- Hand out flyers. Consider setting up a booth to collect donations if allowed.
- Hang tags on doors and mail boxes.
- Make posters.
- Reach out with social media such as Facebook.
- Send a press release to your local newspaper or school newspaper. Helpful link: How to write a press release.
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Requirement 3: Review It!
Always remember to thank those who helped with your advocacy program.
Ways to say Thank You:
- Personally thank individuals and businesses who helped. A hand written letter is always nice. Helpful Link: How to write a thank you letter.
- Thank the community as a whole with posters.
- Create a follow up press release and include the names of individuals and businesses who participated.
- Thank the community as a whole on social media.
- Give certificates of appreciation.
Discuss Your Advocacy Project
- Do you think your advocacy project helped to promote good civic behavior in your community?
- Will you continue?
- What else can you do to further promote good civic activities?
Congratulations! You have earned the Citizen Advocate patch. It can be purchased at our partner site MakingFriends®.com.
You can become a Community Advocate by earning all 5 community advocate level patches.
Did completing this Patch Program® give you some ideas for becoming a Citizen Delegate?
See all our current Advocate level Patch Program®s:
Related Fun Patch Ideas:
Note: Many of the links provided to assist with completing our Patch Program®s are external and do not imply an endorsement or recommendation. At the time of publication, external content was vetted to the best of our ability. Your views and ideas may vary and we do not intend for you to substitute our opinions for yours. Research the topic thoroughly before beginning a project. As always, make sure children access the internet only under safe-surfing conditions.
©2019 youthsquad.makingfriends.com
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