FEBRUARY IS NATIONAL PARENT LEADERSHIP MONTH
Honoring Parents as the Real Heroes
February is National Parent Leadership Month, dedicated to recognizing the important role of parents in raising healthy families in their homes and communities. This year the Alliance is honoring parents for their heroic efforts to keep their families strong during 2020. Many parents used the Strengthening Families Protective Factors for healthy ways to respond to the opportunities that the pandemic presented. As we worked with parents in the Alliance Resiliency Project, one of the most critical concerns that parents faced was their childrens’ educational needs. The featured photograph on this year’s Parent Leadership Certificate comes from Jeanie Brooks Hawkins, a former Children’s Trust Fund director from Tennessee. This is Jeanie’s granddaughter, and the picture encapsulates a lot of what parents experienced during 2020. Our 2021 Parent Leadership Certificate is a fillable PDF form with areas for you to customize. Download the certificate to recognize parent leaders in your organization and community. Also, please download the social media images and help us in letting parents know how much we appreciate them and their dedication to their families.
2021 CERTIFICATE
Please use this fillable certificate to honor the parents who are partnering with you to make a difference in your communities. Besides text fields, the certificate has images fields for a signature and your organization’s logo.
Parents Are the Real Heroes
Helping us stay connected when the whole world is disconnected – parents are the real heroes.
FAMILIES ARE ESSENTIAL!
HERO SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Our National Parent Leadership Month social media campaign is organized around the theme: HERO – Healthy Empowering Response to Opportunity. The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council (ANPPC) has created and are sharing images and messages focused on parents as heroes. There are two images for each letter and corresponding word with activities and resources to support parents and their families in February.
Download the Images
When you click to download the images, you will download a JPEG of the image. Web links are not live in a JPEG, so be sure to include the tiny URL link provided with the image when sharing on social media. There is a suggested message for you to copy and use when posting the image on social media. This text provides links directly to the referenced resources and includes the hashtag #ctfparentHERO Victoria Hilt, co-chair of the ANPPC, created from her home a step-by-step video of how to download an image and post it to the various social media platforms. To view this 6-minute video, click on the button below.
Parents Share HERO Stories
During February National Parent Leadership Month, we are honoring parents as the heroes they have been during COVID-19. Research shows that real growth can happen when people experience adversity. Based on the Post Traumatic Growth Index, the members of the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council (ANPPC) posed three questions to some of the Alliance’s parent partner heroes. Questions to Ask Parent HEROES
If you are a member of an organization that values parent heroes, you might use these same questions with your parent partners. They will help reveal some of the heroic wisdom and experience that makes your communities strong.
- What fuels your personal strengths?
- What are you seeing that will impact a positive future in 2021?
- Think back to a year ago today – if there is one thing you could share with others about what you have learned during the pandemic, what would it be?
Parent HERO Videos
Watch the following short videos to hear what the parent heroes learned during this time, how their strengths have shaped better outcomes for their families and what supports they need most.
- Parent HERO – LaShay Canady (3 min)
- Parent HERO – Edward Casillas (2 min)
- Parent HERO – Betty Emery-Hawkins (3 min)
- Parent HERO – Maggie Fye (2 min)
- Parent HERO – Kara Georgi (3 min)
- Parent HERO – Victoria Hilt (3 min)
- Parent HERO – LaChrisa Rose (4 min)
'H' Is for HEALTHY Habits
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “H” in HERO is for HEALTHY because even heroes need to take care of themselves. Download this calendar to build HEALTHY habits into your hero routine: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/self-care-september. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'H' is for HEALTHY Activities
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “H” in HERO is for HEALTHY. As a parent hero, use some of these activities to keep you and your family HEALTHY and active: https://www.thespruce.com/fun-kids-winter-activities-2997492. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'E' Is for EMPOWERING the Wins
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “E” in HERO is for EMPOWERING yourself and others to celebrate the small but significant wins. Check out this Ted Talk and be EMPOWERED: https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-make-your-small-wins-work-for-you #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'E' Is for EMPOWERING Relationships
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “E” in HERO is for EMPOWERING yourself and others to build stronger relationships even during COVID-19. Learn how 10-seconds can boost mental health and build positive relationships: https://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-power-of-10-second-relationships #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'R' Is for a RESPONSE with Love
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “R” in HERO is for RESPONSE because parent heroes RESPOND with love. Use this assessment to learn about your child’s love language: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/child-quiz. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'R' is for a RESPONSE of Gratitude
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “R” in HERO is for RESPONSE. As a parent hero you notice the little things that you are thankful of, and RESPOND by writing messages of gratitude. Learn more at https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-messages-letters-lists. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'R' is for a RESPONSE with Knowledge
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “R” in HERO is for RESPONSE. As a parent hero you RESPOND with knowledge. Build your family’s knowledge of Black History Month with these resources: ctfalliance.org/partnering-with-parents/parent-voice. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'O' is for OPPORTUNITY for a Happier Life
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “O” in HERO is for OPPORTUNITY because parent heroes look for OPPORTUNITIES to improve themselves and their families. Use these keys to unlock a happier life: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'O' is for the OPPORTUNITY to Learn #1 Magic Word
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The O” in HERO is for OPPORTUNITY. Being a parent HERO means knowing the secret code words! Use this OPPORTUNITY to learn about the #1 magic word that all heroes know and use everyday: https://tinyurl.com/heromagicword. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD
'O' is for a OPPORTUNITY to Talk
(Suggested message for sharing on social media)
The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is happy to celebrate National Parent Leadership month with you and the parent heroes you serve. The “O” in HERO is for OPPORTUNITY. Black History Month is an OPPORTUNITY for parent heroes to discuss racism with your children. Check out these conversation starters: https://www.unicef.org/parenting/talking-to-your-kids-about-racism. #ctfparentHERO DOWNLOAD