Hi All,
I'll throw my .02 or so into this...
If I could join ILCA, I would. I would love to get the JHL. However, I
have no money. I do not make any money helping moms to BF right now, and if
I did it would have to go to help put food on my table to feed my kids. I
think that we need to look at priorities in life, and quite frankly, being a
member of ILCA and getting JHL (no matter how much one may want it) is not
always a priority.
I do not think that being a member of any professional orginization "makes"
one anything other than what they are. Are we better LC's simply because we
are a member of ILCA? I don't think so. We are better LC's because we work
hard and educate ourselves to the best of our abilities. If our abilities
allow us the bonus of being able to afford to join ILCA and recieve JHL,
then great, but if not, that does not make us less than those who do.
>However, I have heard some people, who get little to no income from LC work
say >that the dues are pretty high when you look at it from that angle.
>On the other hand most of ththe dues is to cover cost of JHL.
Sure, but if you have no money, you have no money. Is it fair to take from
our families just so we can read a good magazine? Priorities...
>And how can you be an LC and not attend local chapter meetings, state and
>national meetings and educational offerings?
>I realize this is a geographical/family/work problem for some,
It costs money to go to some of these functions; travel, childcare, boarding
and food, etc. If you don't have it, you don't have it. I would dearly
love to attend ILCA this year, or the LLL conference this fall, but I have
no money. So, what do I do? Buy a membership in ILCA? Nope. Can't afford
that either. Does that make me less than someone who can afford it? Or
make me less than enthusiastic about the proffession I love? Hardly. Do I
look for other ways to educate myself, to give myself information that can
help moms? Yes. I read, and participate actively in Lactnet, and I surf
the net for BF related information, I also borrow JHL's from those who do
get them, but that is rare. Does that make me less informed? I don't think so.
>but if you can't get to meetings the least you can do is subscribe to JHL!
Who would like to sponser a membership for me? Who would like to sponser a
membership for those out in Africa, or way out in the boonies in Canada or
Austrailia or wherever? How about if we start a charity organization for LCs
who are poor and can't afford to buy a membership with ILCA? We can look at
their income and subsidize the cost of membership to make it less expensive
or pay for the membership for them outright. In addition to that, we can
look at their incomes and then sponser them to ILCA, LLL or BSC conferences.
We could sponser groups of LC wannabees for education, memberships to ILCA
and send them books and educational materials. Where are we gonna get all
the money to help all the people who would love to be involved in this stuff
but can't because of finances? Who is going to pay MY childcare, hotel,
food and conference fees so that I can educate myself and be a better LC?
No one. Heck, if someone will pay my bills for me, I'd gladly buy a
membership in ILCA and go to conferences.
To say that "the least you can do is subscribe to JHL" and "how can you be
an LC and not subscribe to JHL...attend meetings..."etc, is, IMNSHO,
shortsighted and unfair. And I am being nice here. We are all different
and have different needs. Not all of us NEEDS JHL to be a good LC, in fact,
there are a hell of a lot of great LCs out there who are not members of
ILCA, and that is just fine.
ILCA and JHL are not the end all of LC-dom, if you catch my drift.
Done with my rant...
Jay
Jay Simpson, CLE
Sacramento, CA
"No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."
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