The Alliance for Justice defines advocacy as "any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others." Human Rights Careers' Emmaline Soken-Huberty defines advocacy as "simply the act of standing up for others." For the Youth Mentoring Collaborative, advocacy is centered on raising awareness of the benefits of effective, goal-oriented youth mentoring.
Contact Your Representatives
North Carolina General Assembly Contact Information
Reach out to your representatives directly.
- NC Senate Contact information is available here.
- NC House of Representative's Contact information is available here.
South Carolina General Assembly Contact Information
- SC Senate Contact information is available here.
- SC House of Representative's Contact information is available here.
Advocacy is taking action to support people to say what they want, secure their rights, pursue their interests and obtain the services they need.
Advocacy Matters
Submit a Proclamation
Proclamations, or official designations, are a way to put something "on file" or "on record" that an elected official or body of officials are committed to a cause. Organizations can leverage proclamations as a way to educate the public about a specific issue or bring attention to a cause.
How to Submit a Proclamation
- Contact your state or local government office. Decide where you would like to submit a proclamation - either to your city, county, or state government - and head to their website. Look for "Ceremonial" or "Forms" on the website, or go to the "Contact Us" page and draft a message.
- Draft your proclamation. We have supplied a National Mentoring Month draft proclamation here, though you are welcome to design your own depending on what cause you are supporting.
- Submit your proclamation with enough time in advance. Generally, we recommend submitting a proclamation two to three weeks in advance of the proposed proclamation meeting or signing event. If you don't have an event at which you will present a proclamation, look up the legislative body's meeting calendar and propose a date on which they will already meet.
Resources
Stay tuned for our Advocacy Toolkit, coming soon! In the meantime, access existing resources for advocacy.
Youth Advocacy
Plan International's "The Education We Want: An Advocacy Toolkit" was made possible through collaboration by UNGEI and UNICEF.
Advocacy Toolkits
- Save the Children's in-depth "Advocacy Toolkit" is a great resource for understanding, effective planning, goal setting, and follow through in terms of advocacy.
- Bolder Advocacy's "Public Charities Can Lobby" is a framework for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations to lobby.
- Prosperity Now's "Advocacy Toolkit" speaks broadly to advocacy, including the types of advocacy, lobbying at the Federal and State levels, and how to communicate for change.
- NC Child's "Six Tips for Legislative Advocates for Children in North Carolina" outlines how to understand the General Assembly and take action.
“Advocacy is empathy, compassion and community at work.” - Janna Cachola
Stay Up-To-Date
Get involved with YMC by checking out our events calendar. We post events for those inside and outside the mentoring movement.
Resources
Looking for more information? Head to our Resources page to find materials for organizations, caregivers, and youth.
Our Guiding Principles
In understanding more about who we are and what we do, you must learn about Critical Perspectives on Mentoring.