Lana Hostetler Award

The Lana Hostetler Award is given to one or more of Illinois AEYC's affiliates to designed during our bi-annual conference (which will next take place in 2008).

Who is Lana Hostetler?

Lana Hostetler was a professor at Lincoln Land Community College. She served as president of Illinois AEYC and of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

In the early l970’s Lana began advocating with and for those who work with young children. She was Illinois AEYC’s first Legislative Liaison - serving in that capacity until the early l990’s. Lana was instrumental in collecting, sharing and interpreting information about the issues and concerns that impact young children and their families, and in using that information to influence policy making and construct legislation in Illinois.

During her term as President in Illinois, a number of new local affiliates were formed, giving the association a statewide base for advocacy initiatives, a characteristic that makes our organization unique. Ms. Hostetler initiated liaison efforts with many advisory and policy boards as well as child-focused agencies and associations. She played a role in defining public policy initiatives on the national level for NAEYC, as well as in Illinois. Her many publications and accomplishments are too numerous to mention.

For over twenty years Lana Hostetler was a passionate and tireless voice advocating for the rights of children and families and for those who work with them. She conveyed to many of us the urgency of assuming the responsibility for advocating for children and families and instructed and encouraged us in our efforts to carry out that responsibility. The current level of Illinois AEYC involvement in public policy activities is her legacy to our organization.

In 1986, in recognition of her work, Illinois AEYC created the Lana Hostetler Award for Advocacy for Young Children. The Award, which was last given in 2004 to Quad Cities AEYC, originally was given to an Illinois resident who exhibited potential in child advocacy.

Lana’s life was cut short when she died in a tragic fire in her home in 1999. At the time of her death, the Illinois AEYC Governing Board made the decision to revise and reinstate the award in commemoration of her work. The Lana Hostetler Award for Advocacy is supported by Illinois AEYC members, affiliates, friends and Ms. Hostetler’s family.

Award Information

Rationale

The purpose of the Lana Hostetler Grant is to continue the efforts on behalf of the rights, needs and well-being of children, families in Illinois and those who work with children and families, as exemplified by the work of Lana Hostetler through one or more of the following activities:

1. Facilitating and promoting the development of advocacy skills within members of the early childhood profession and Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children membership
2. Increasing awareness among legislators and those in public agencies of the needs of young children and families
3. Promoting and supporting public policies and legislation that will effectively serve the needs of children and their families

Criteria

Grantees must be chapters or officially sanctioned committees or work groups of Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children or its official chapters. Grants will be evaluated by the following criteria:

1. The range, depth and quality of impact that the effort will have upon the welfare of young children and those who work with and for young children
2. The extent of public awareness concerning the needs, rights and well-being of young children generated by the effort
3. A demonstrated commitment to the early childhood profession.

Expectations

It is expected that the grantee will:

1. Expend funds as specified by the approved grant
2. Prepare a written report of the project within 60 days of its completion and present it to the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children’s Governing Board
3. Serve as a resource for other groups of the organization through conferences, workshops or training as needed.

Applying for the Award

Like the woman who displayed tireless passion and concern for young children and their families, your organization may submit a grant proposal and request for monetary compensation for Advocacy. The Lana Hostetler Grant can be made for an amount up to $1000 to be used for educational and/or advocacy efforts in accordance with the specifications of the grant.