In Massachusetts, we have many organizations established with the mission of providing services to individuals in need. In addition, many offer additional services such as job training, professional development and organized play groups for children and families. The first organization that appealed to me was the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MassAEYC). Their mission is to collaborate with families, educators, and agencies to support high quality early education and care through professional development and advocacy (MassAEYC.org) An affiliate to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children birth through eight. I was interested in working for this organization as an instructor. I am actually hoping to further my education and enter a PhD program upon completion of my master's degree. To teach one of their courses, I would need to become more specialized in a specific area of early education. In our area we have an instructor from a local community college who also provides professional development opportunities for this organization. This is something I would really like to do.
The second organization, community of practice that I found appealing was People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE). Their mission is to mobilize and utilize both public and private resources to affect the improvement of the economic and social quality of life for low income residents. (PACEInc.com) Their programs have included fuel assistance, child care subsidies, family literary programs, family visiting program, health coverage assistance, and training programs for teens looking for employment. As part of this organization I would like to be part of the grant writing process for the family literary programs and working with childcares and schools to support literature in children. I have a friend who actually has this job and she works with all the local schools and childcares and with her help has been able to bring in additional funding for books for the children in addition to the workshops, trainings, and seminars she organizes promoting literacy. In my previous career as a research chemist, grant writing was an essential part of my job and it was something I very much enjoyed. Writing for education would be very rewarding and hopefully with my previous work experience, my master's degree and director of my own childcare I would be that much closer to being qualified for this.
The third organization that appealed to me was the Massachusetts Children's Alliance. They are an advocacy center in the forefront of child abuse intervention. Their mission is to foster collaboration and communication among agencies and provide sensitive and culturally competent coordinated response to child victims and witnesses. (machildrensalliance.org) Services include investigation teams, mental health evaluations, victim advocacy, training, and research (machildrensalliance.org) In childcare, we sadly see many cases of dependent care children who have been through very stressful unfortunate situations and need additional services to help them through the traumatic events they have suffered. Organizations like this one give these children the services they need while being sensitive to their individual experiences. A job opportunity that would interest me would be that of a child councilor. I have not made the decision if I want to pursue a PhD in education or in psychology but that would be my ultimate goal if I chose psychology..
References
Massachusettes Association for the Education of Young Children (MassAEYC). Retrieved from http://massaeyc.com
Massachusetts Children's Alliance (MACA) Retrieved from http://www.machildrensalliance.org
People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE). Retrieved from http://www.paceinfo.org/
Hi Tracy, You have three very important organizations here that work on the behalf of children. If you were to be employed by any one of these you would have opportunity to really make a difference. Your background in grant writing will be in high demand and you can do a lot of good with that skill. Child counseling would also be an awesome calling. I haven't decided on a doctoral degree yet, but you inspire me to think about it.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I think it is interesting how you enjoy grant writing. As part of my job as a director of a nonprofit I have to write many grants to help fund our program. It is not one of the responsibilities I particularly enjoy. It's not that I don't enjoy writing, I think it is more the stress of deadlines and showing how you meet the requirements of the grant and making the case of why you should get the grant over competitors.
ReplyDeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I think you found some very good resources. I was not familiar with PACE.I think the assignment really allowed us to find opportunities that we may not be familiar with.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteYou selected three very diverse organizations that work with family and children. It's easy to see how you would be drawn to each of them. An added benefit is your ability to write grants, which I'm sure would be greatly welcomed. One of my mentors, my sister-in-law has been in education for almost twenty years now and her specialization is in child counseling. It is a wonderful and rewarding profession. I wish you much success in that endeavor.
Ms.Atwood,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very informative. I have never known anyone that wanted to focus on grant writing.Of the options you mentioned to you have a favorite?