Contributed by Dorothea Lantz
One great way to help raise awareness for PWS during the month of May is to request a proclamation or resolution from your local and/or state government. A proclamation is an official designation of an event. Proclamations are created to help educate the public about a certain topic, in this case PWS, and bring attention to a cause. It’s also an effective tool for gaining public recognition of your cause and/or event because it carries the full support of a key government official in your state or community. Below, you will find a 4-step guide to start your own process of requesting a proclamation!
STEP 1: Contact your state or local government office
Governors, county executives, mayors, state legislatures, municipalities, counties, cities or towns can issue proclamations. For city proclamations, a mayor, city manager or city marshal may be the person to sign. For counties, it will most likely be the county commissioners. You do not have to have both the city and county proclamations; you can decide which entity in your community would reach more people. Determine whether you would like to request a proclamation from your city, county or state and locate the website for this entity.
STEP 2: Draft your proclamation
For those of you looking to request a PWS specific proclamation, please click here to see the PWS Awareness month designation by congress in 2010 for reference.
STEP 3: Follow the guidelines for submitting a proclamation request
Each city, county, and state will have their own guidelines and procedures for signing proclamations. The easiest way to research your city, county, or state’s guidelines is to look on its website and search for the term “proclamation.” Some of the larger cities and counties will have proclamation guidelines listed. Smaller cities and counties may provide contact information on the website to call or email for proclamation information.
Oftentimes, a cover letter requesting the proclamation is requested or required. Click here to download a sample cover letter written to a city, county, or state’s government office in request of a proclamation.
Helpful tips to expedite the process:
- Include a draft text of the proclamation in the preferred format
- Share the purpose of the proclamation (PWS Awareness Month)
- Provide the date when the proclamation is needed
- Include a brief history of your personal story as it relates to PWS
- Add your name and best contact information
STEP 4: Make an event out of it!
Notify your local paper or media outlets and PWSA | USA about the proclamation. Distribute printed copies of the proclamation to local reporters and newspapers. Have the proclamation photo-enlarged for display at a news conference and/or in a prominent public place. As with any media piece, demonstrate its importance to the media’s audience by including local statistics.
Click the buttons below to read first-hand accounts from other PWS community members who have successfully navigated the proclamation process. If you have any questions, contact us at advocacy@pwsausa.org.
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Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.