Dec/Jan 2005Vol. 5, No. 10Parents Anonymous® Seeks Co-sponsors for National Parent Leadership Month
In February 2005, National Parent Leadership Month will once again provide the opportunity for parents to be recognized by a broad spectrum of organizations and communities for their leadership to improve families and neighborhoods. Parents Anonymous® Inc. is seeking public and private organizations working in the areas of social services, education, juvenile justice, child care, mental health, and health, as well as businesses and public officials at the national, State, or local level to join as co-sponsors to promote this initiative.
The purpose of National Parent Leadership Month is to:
- Raise public awareness about the important roles parents play in shaping the lives of children and families
- Expand opportunities for parent leaders to participate in meaningful leadership activities
- Recognize individual parent leaders whose contributions make a positive difference to their families and communities
- Build successful partnerships between parent leaders and professionals to strengthen and support families and communities
- Highlight how parent leadership is a vital child abuse prevention strategy.
The first National Parent Leadership Month was launched in February 2004. Governors, mayors, and boards of supervisors all across the country signed proclamations and resolutions declaring February to be National Parent Leadership Month. In addition to generating news coverage on radio and television, many co-sponsors recognized parents at special events or conferences and in feature stories published in newsletters and on websites.
To help partners organize activities and outreach opportunities this year, Parents Anonymous® Inc. has developed an extensive online toolkit. The toolkit, designed for use by both professionals and parent leaders, contains resources to assist organizations in educating neighbors, colleagues, the media, and public officials about National Parent Leadership Month. The toolkit includes:
- An overview of parent leadership
- Key campaign messages for National Parent Leadership Month
- Tips for identifying potential partners
- Suggestions for community activities
- Guidelines for selecting and preparing parent leaders to be spokespersons
- Tips and tools for requesting proclamations
- Tips and tools for working with the media
- Sample newsletter articles and web copy
Copies of the toolkit can be accessed on the Parents Anonymous® Inc. website at http://parentsanonymous.org/assets/NPLM_TK_All.pdf (PDF - 866 KB). If you are planning to celebrate National Parent Leadership Month or if you have any questions, please contact Meryl Levine, MSSA, at (909) 621-6184, ext. 220 or by email at mlevine@parentsanonymous.org.
