Public Affairs Advocacy Subcommittee

The Advocacy Subcommittee drives educational advocacy, strategic coalition-building, and public visibility for the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) profession across national, state, and local levels. We equip Extension professionals with the resources and platforms needed to engage external stakeholders, media, and peer institutions effectively.

Continuing the Tradition of Collaboration with AAFCS
The NEAFCS and the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) collaborate annually during the first full week of December to celebrate Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) Week, focused on mental, physical, and emotional well-being. The official week typically kicks off at the beginning of December (e.g., from December 1 to December 5). 

• The resources will be available for you to download and share by early November. Find FCS Week Resources here. -ADD HYPERLINK

Evolving Our Approach: Beyond Living Well Month
For years, Living Well Month served as a foundational awareness effort for our network. Building upon that proud history, we are shifting our focus to create deeper, year-round impact. Recognizing that health, wellness, and family resilience require continuous dialogue rather than a single-month focus, we have phased out traditional Living Well Month campaigns to launch our dynamic new initiative: NEAFCS Wellness Hacks.

Introducing NEAFCS Wellness Hacks
The “NEAFCS Wellness Hacks” initiative is a year-long educational outreach campaign designed to promote the Eight Dimensions of Wellness across our social media channels (LinkedIn and Facebook). To fuel this campaign, the Advocacy Subcommittee invites members to participate in a dynamic peer-reviewed media competition showcasing practical, science-backed solutions to everyday challenges.

Why Submit to Wellness Hacks?

• Earn National Recognition: Win a spot as one of only 12 premier entries selected annually through a prestigious, blind peer-review process.
• Tenure & Promotion: Transform your video into a formal, peer-reviewed achievement to strengthen your professional promotion dossier.
• National Visibility: Feature your local achievements on a national stage through high-profile spotlights on national NEAFCS social media and website.
• Attract Funding: Showcase high-yield community reach to unlock new cross-sector partnerships and major funding streams.

NEAFCS Wellness Hacks Competition Guidelines
We welcome individual or team submissions featuring short, engaging videos (under 3 minutes) addressing a common public pain point. Each video should follow a clear structure:

• Struggle: Highlight a common pain point or daily struggle for the general population.
• Solution: Deliver a practical, actionable fix using evidence-based information.
• Science: Explain why the solution works.
• Self-advocacy: Introduce yourself, your program, and your institution.
• Enhancement (Optional): Supplement your video with an optional email newsletter template to maximize local sharing.

Submission Portal

• The link will be open for submission February 1-March 30. 

Evaluation & Scoring Criteria

• Set your submission up for success! Check the Official Judging Criteria Sheet to see exactly how your video will be evaluated by the peer-review panel.

* We will continue to send detailed information, resources, and reminders through emails, the NEAFCS Newsletter, and the website. 

Advocacy Committee Master Timeline