Have you looked at the World Childless Week homepage recently? If not go and take a look and then come back.
Ok, so I may have been a little misleading as they are still there but their title has changed; they are now World Childless Week Ambassadors.
I want to stop at this point because it is important for me to acknowledge that some of the Ambassadors have stepped down: Robin Hadley, Yvonne Maier, Anne Barratt, Vanida Karun, Linda Malm, Rod Silvers, Ruth Levy-Abramson (aka Sky) and Gloria Labay. They have all been instrumental in supporting our community, World Childless Week and me personally over the last few years. I wish every one of them well in their professional and personal spaces, and alongside offering them continued support from World Childless Week I am most grateful to still call them friends.
Whilst we now have Ambassadors spearheading World Childless Week, the idea of not having Champions seems a little peculiar. But, perhaps there is a way? From this year and going forwards there will be Honorary Yearly Champions announced in the run up to World Childless Week.
Our community is full of some amazing and wonderful Champions and from now on we want to recognise them and say “thank you for doing what you do”. We see the people who work tirelessly year upon year, the people who do one thing that makes a difference, the people who are shouting about childlessness and the people who are whispering.
If you are not excited already, I hope this will take it up a notch, because this is where you come in. Whilst the Ambassadors and I will choose the yearly Champions we want you to nominate someone to be the People’s Champion.
The People’s Champion will NOT gain the title because they receive the most nominations, they will receive it because of what you make us feel when you nominate them. It could be a blogger, a group admin, a public figure, a life coach or an individual who wrote 5 lines that changed your day or your entire thought process. All we ask is that they too are childless not by choice.
So choose your words wisely when explaining why you are nominating them. We want to feel as though we are in your shoes and can recognise the emotions they raised and the difference they made.
As a side note, if you nominate someone who wishes to remain anonymous we will work with them to ensure they are recognised for their act and not their name. At the end of the day confidentiality and their comfort at being acknowledged will lead any final decisions we make.
Nominations close on the 31st July, so if someone has not instantly sprung to mind you have some time to think it over. Once you know who your People’s Champion is, you can nominate them here
Stephanie Joy Phillips
Founder, World Childless Week
Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash