8 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION WITH COMPASSION’S CHILD ADVOCATE NETWORK IN 2013

This year we have a number of initiatives that we’d love you to engage with:

1. Compassion Sunday: May the 26^th is our third Compassion Sunday. This awesome resource helps equip you to engage your church in making a significant difference in communities across the globe. The resources for Compassion Sunday are all designed to make it easy for you to speak to your pastor about Compassion and hopefully do a presentation at your church and see lots of children sponsored.

2. CAN Volunteer roles: Contact your CAN Relations Manager to be trained and equipped in the following roles (training for both roles takes place in one go)

• Program Promoter: Get equipped to inspire friends, family and church members to sponsor children with Compassion. 
  

• Event Volunteer: Training allows you to be an official volunteer for Compassion at major and local events, including conferences, partner artist concerts, church partnership launches and CAN national events.

3. CAN Insight Trips: It’s not too late to travel overseas with Compassion in 2013. Our November trip to Thailand still has places left, but get in quick because registrations close 28 February 2013. In April, we have two CAN trips heading off—one to Haiti and the Dominican Republic and another trip to the Philippines. In the coming weeks we will be launching our trips for 2014. (I can let you into a bit of a secret: the trips are going to be Ethiopia in January 2014, Indonesia in April 2014, India in September 2014 and Honduras and El Salvador in November 2014). More details will be out in the coming months.

4. CANtalks ‘online webinars’: The CANtalks webinars give you the chance to listen and interact live with guest speakers from around the world, right from your very own computer. Topics cover in-depth understanding of our core programs, as well as inspiring stories from former sponsored children and Child Advocates just like you. The next CANtalks event will be advertised in the coming weeks.

5. Nationwide events: We love to get together as a community. In 2013 we will bring out a number of Leadership Development Program graduates and give you the opportunity to interact and learn from them about how Compassion and their sponsors and local churches changed their lives. We will also be running our highly successful ‘Gathering’ events to bring together Child Advocates in our cities. Details are still being confirmed, so keep your eye on our events page.

6. Play the ‘Life Options’ game in your local community:  Compassion’s Life Options game gives you the opportunity to show members of your church, school or community what life can be like in a community living in poverty. In the game, you will be forced to wrestle with the agonising decisions a parent must make for their children. Few experiences are as powerful in conveying the vital work of Compassion.Contact your CAN Relations Manager for a copy of the game today.

7. Coalition campaigns with Micah Challenge and Stop the Traffik:

• Micah Challenge: It’s an election year and in the run up to the federal election in 2013, and with the 2015 goal line for the Millennium Development Goals fast approaching, Australia has an opportunity to save and improve the lives of millions of the world's poorest people. Join us as we call on the Australian government to finish what we started when we committed to achieving these goals. The CAN will be supporting Micah Challenge’s Finish The Race campaignthroughout 2013.

• Stop The Traffik: Stop the Traffik (STT) exists to end the buying and selling of people. In continuing to demand a traffick-free world, the CAN will be supporting a number of campaigns by STT targeting the cocoa and cotton industry as well as changes to Australia’s legislation regarding goods made through slavery. 

8.  Join the CAN Facebook group page: Where our amazing Child Advocates and staff share photos, stories, events and prayer requests as they take action with Compassion!

As always, we continue to pray that God will grow the network—because without you and your commitment to the ministry of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, there will not be as many lives touched as there could be. So thanks in advance for all the hard work and effort that you will put in this year. We are excited to partner with you and to see significant impact made for children throughout the world.

Paul