Today I am excited to announce the two people who the World Childless Week Ambassadors have chosed as their Champions for 2022.

On what it means to be a Champion. Well, I searched the site to see what other Champions have said. But then I decided to search for the definition of champion. And the dictionary definition says ‘a person who fights or argues for a cause or on behalf of someone else.’ I think that’s about right. That is what I set out to do. 

Well, first and foremost I set out to get the word out to those hiding in plain sight all around the world, that we did not have to live that way. That it is OK to live the life we were given without shame and regret, and feeling like a second-class citizen because society said that is who we are. We are not second-class citizens. We are women and men whose lives did not turn out as we expected. We did not get to have the children or families we expected. 

What society does not realize is most people live lives they did not expect. The difference is our childless not by choice lives may be more evident to society than the hidden things others did not get. I believe that makes us brave. We are brave in the way we live life despite. We contribute to society despite. We strive to live relevant and joyful lives, despite. 

And through my podcast, I get to argue on behalf of all of us. 

I am honored to be doing this work, and I am honored to be a World Childless Week Champion. Thank you, Stephanie Joy Phillips, and the entire Childless not by Choice Community.  

I am truly grateful for and honored by this recognition. It was completely unexpected, and is particularly special to me at this time, as I focus on change for our collective community. The places where we can find resonance through a shared knowing in our diverse journeys, are vital.

It is the work and heart of spaces like World Childless Week that create the support, visibility and celebration of our community, which is foundational and encourages me to continue to work toward meaningful change in new ways.

I’m happy to say that both Civilla and Christine are participating in World Childless Week 2022. Civilla will be a panellist in the webinar Letters to Our Younger Selves on Wednesday 14th September hosted by Jody Day, and Christine will be leading the webinar Employers and Policies: How to bring Childlessness into the Conversation on Thursday 15th September.

On behalf of the myself and the Ambassadors I would like to thank both Civilla and Christine for accepting the title of Champion and for their contributions, past, present and future, to support our community.

Love & laughter

Steph

World Childless Week founder

P.S If you missed my post on Sunday announcing the World Childless Week People’s Champion for 2022, you can find out who that is here