By Lamar and Ronnie Tyler
It’s been over a year since I started writing for the Moms Clean Air Force. And what a difference a year has made in my life and my family!
I came to know about MCAF from another mom, Ana Flores. I saw Ana at a social media conference and she told me about her work with MCAF. She told me about the difference that it made in her life, and about her work to help clean up air pollution for children. She thought it would be a great fit for us (my husband and I), and she thought that our “voice” would be an excellent addition to hundreds of thousands of other “voices” that were speaking up for children and their right breathe clean air.
It piqued my interest, but I told her that I was a little intimidated about being involved. Because lets face it, I was no environmentalist. So I said that we were interested, and when I got home, I took some time to review the site and read some of the posts, including Ana’s posts.
And that’s when I thought, I can do this. There is so much that I have to learn. And I was sure there were other moms/parents like me,that could benefit from taking this journey with us. We may not be experts in this area, but I know that our voice can make a difference.
I that know our voice can make a difference because of the feedback that we receive every day on our website, BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, where we promote positive images of marriage and parenting in the African American community. Every day, Lamar and I receive messages like these:
“Thank you for your site. Your articles mean so much to me.”
“I’m not married yet, but your site has given me hope that I will one day have a healthy marriage.”
“Today, I was going to give up on my marriage. Thank-you for encouraging me to keep trying.”
It took just that one conversation with Ana to make a huge difference in my life. In the past year, my family has changed the way that we do things around the house. Our entire family is involved in conserving energy and resources. This is a new way of life for us that will carry into our kids’ adulthood and will be passed on to their kids and so on.
Importantly, I’ve changed the way I vote. I am definitely researching a candidate’s position on clean air regulations before I make a choice. I want to know that those who represent me are going to protect the environment before I give them my vote.
Yes, that one conversation with Ana really did all that!
So. please know that your voice…your one voice does count. It’s powerful. And when we join together, as we do when we sign Mom’s Clean Air Force petitions it’s exponentially powerful.
Watch Ana’s inspiring video and please encourage others to pass the baton and join Mom’s Clean Air Force.