Check it out - A message to all members of National Movement for America's Children.

We wanted to let you know that the National Movement for America's Children has started sending out a weekly update on Movement activities and we wanted to share it with you. We hope you will visit the Movement website here, sign the pledge and get involved if you haven't already. We also hope you will consider re-posting this post to your blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

Welcome

Welcome to the National Movement for America’s Children inaugural weekly update where we reflect on Movement activities, including listening tour stops and local events, media coverage, ideas for crafting the National Strategy and roles you can play in furthering this effort.

Listening Tour Stops

Listening Tour stops involve representatives from National Movement’s founding members and community partners meeting with local citizens, including college students, grandparents; service organizations and policymakers to discuss the development of the National Strategy.

Listening tour events have been held in a variety of locations during the last several weeks including Indianapolis, IN; Denver, CO; Grand Junction, CO; Lady Lake, FL; Schenectady NY; Albany, NY; Richmond, VA; Nashville, TN; Chicago, IL; and Palatine, IL. 

Upcoming stops include cities across VT and NH. 

Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you would like to participate in any of the upcoming tour stops or discuss how you can participate in bringing a tour stop to your state or hometown.

Media

The National Movement has been fortunate to receive coverage in AdAge, The Chicago Tribune and  NJToday.net among other places and representatives of the Movement will soon be appearing on Public Radio shows in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Please keep a look out for the broadcast dates and please let us know if you have any media outlets in your community that would be interested in talking to representatives of the Movement about our work so far and where we plan to go in the future.

Ideas

Ideas to potentially be included in crafting the National Strategy have come via listening tour stops and the Movement Pledge site and they include among others:

(1)  “Ensure community partners work together."

(2)  "More community crisis nurseries.”

(3)  “Equal access to education.”

(4)  "Affordable, quality and accessible healthcare."

(5)  "Improve aid for childcare."

(6)  “Healthier food options in schools.”

(7)  "Adequate food, clothing and shelter for all families."

(8)  "More deliberate planning for neighborhoods, including neighborhood, (not just community) parks, and sidewalks for children safety."

(9)   "Support for more adults to mentor children."

(10)  "Adults reading to children every day."

Your Role

What you can do? You can encourage people to sign the pledge and answer “The Big Question.” You can participate in listening tour stops in your home state or play a role in bringing a tour stop or local organizing activities to your neighborhoods. You can also be a voice in your community for the Movement and for the healthy development of all children. And, you can volunteer at a community service agency, provide pro bono professional skills to not-for-profits that serve children and families, or you can spend quality time with your child.