There are currently more than a dozen Lead Safe Mama Facebook groups organized by geographic area. Each time I get a request from families in a specific area to coordinate an outreach trip to that area, I start a Facebook group.
“Why are you creating these groups?”
These groups help me “collect” everyone who might be interested in coming to an event (or hosting an event, or sponsoring an event, or volunteering for an event) in that region in one easily accessible place – in case we do end up coordinating an event in that area sometime in the future! [Click here to read more about Lead Safe Mama outreach events.]
These groups also serve two other important functions:
- The main purpose for the groups – long-term – is to foster the building of a local IRL (In-Real-Life) community of parents and others interested in local conversation about childhood Lead-poisoning prevention and locally-focused issues around the subject. Ideally, each of these groups will serve as a “hub” –
- for group-members to ask questions (looking for local resources and ideas).
- for group-members to share about local problems or projects they need help with,
- for participants to share local resources they have found helpful, like public agencies, home renovation grants, and contractors they recommend, etc.
- If there is going to be a Lead Safe Mama event in the area, the people in these geographically-focused groups will also be the first to know about any opportunities to participate in these events (which are usually free and open to the public) AND will be the first to know about any opportunities to have Lead Safe Mama (me) over for a private one-on-one home consultation OR a testing party with friends (if it’s possible to do one in your area).
To see all of the Lead Safe Mama groups, click here (although it will likely take me a few days to get a post up for each one, so wait to click this link until October 2nd or 3rd for a more complete list!)
Tell me more about the New Hampshire / Vermont group!
The “New Hampshire & Vermont Lead Safe Mamas” group was created just over a year ago – around the time I first started creating these location-specific groups – (8/24/2018) – and currently has 73 members (as of tonight 10/1/2019).
I created this group because I have done more outreach and education events in New Hampshire than anywhere else in the country and I LOVE that State and the people there. They are making such huge strides to protecting their kiddos from lead poisoning, and I wanted to make sure to stay in touch with everyone I met at these presentations.
One of my favorite presentations that I ever did was for ALL of the Abatement Contractors in New Hampshire. The coordinators of the event (the representatives with the State Health Department at the time) told me that in order to renew their business license all of the Abatement Contractors in the State needed to come to my presentation and if they did not come and participate in the event they would have been fined an amount that was twice their business registration fee. Needless to say – it was a full house, and while I though they might throw eggs or tomatoes they were an amazing audience quite receptive to the concerns and new information brought up in my presentation.
“How do I participate?”
If you live in or near* New Hampshire or Vermont please click the group image (above or below) to join this group on Facebook so you can be among the first to know about any Lead Safe Mama events that will be happening near you! [*I will leave it up to you to judge what “near” means!]
As always, thank you for being here and for reading and sharing my posts!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Leave a Reply