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This patch and all program supplies are available from our partner site MakingFriends®.com.
Suggested Prerequisite
Completing the Education Volunteer Patch Program® is a suggested prerequisite for earning your Education Advocate Patch. Your volunteer experience will help provide you with the knowledge needed to advocate for better and more widespread education in your community. You can also opt to complete the Education Volunteer Patch Program® requirements during the time you earn this patch.
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Requirement 1: Research It!
Things to find out:
- Is literacy a problem in the United States? Helpful Link: 32 million American adults can’t read.
- What is the American Library Association? Helpful Link: About ALA
- What is the No Child Left Behind law. Helpful Link: What the No Child Left Behind law means for your child.
- What is the Every Student Succeeds Act: Helpful Link: What You Need to Know
- What is the Head Start program: Helpful Link: Head Start programs
- What is the Race To The Top program? Helpful Link: Race to the Top
- Is the U.S. education system successful? 10 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing
- What do students and teachers need to be successful? Helpful Link: How America Is Breaking Public Education
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Requirement 2: Do It!
Choose an education issue to advocate for. Some ideas:
- Advocate for public funding of libraries: Helpful Link: Advocacy and Public Policy
- Get your friends together and start an after school tutoring group.
- Ask your neighbors to sign up as library volunteers.
- Get your school to offer a new program.
- Raise money for new classroom materials. (Your organization may not allow you to raise funds, check first.)
- Advocate for equality in education.
- Run for Student Council.
- Get your neighbors to turn out for Board of Ed meetings.
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 better education?
- Will you continue?
- What else can you do to further promote better education in your community?
Congratulations! You have earned the Education Advocate patch. It can be purchased at our partner site MakingFriends®.com.
You can become an Outreach Welfare Advocate by earning all 5 outreach advocate level patches.
Did completing this Patch Program® give you some ideas for becoming a Education 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.
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