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Child Care Providers, Parents and Advocates Share Concerns and Hope the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare Hear Them

For Immediate Release

October 30, 2024

ATLANTA – The child care affordability crisis has taken center stage during the 2024 presidential election. Both presidential campaigns have acknowledged – to varying degrees of eloquence – the pressure families and communities face when seeking accessible, affordable early childhood education and care. Now, one week before the election, several parents and advocates affiliated with 9to5 Georgia shared their thoughts on funding for early childhood education and care. To watch their comments and concerns, visit this link and use this passcode: qp6.834V.

Parents, advocates and child care providers discussed:

  • The importance of child care solutions being as diverse as the families in need of care, and as innovative as the needs demand. For instance, child care solutions that center around the first shift, will not address the needs of those who work nights and weekends.
  • The need for flexible child care options that empower parents to balance work and family on their own terms.
  • The importance of sustainable funding to ensure child care providers can offer competitive wages which will enable them to retain their best educators.
  • The need for dialogue around “work life balance” to include child care in its fundamental elements. Dignified workplaces must recognize and adapt to the realities of working parents, understanding that supporting families benefits everyone. 

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Raising Child Care Fund Adds Three Grantees to Build Capacity to  Reform Child Care in a Total of 20 States

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON – As child care providers and parents navigate the fallout from the end of pandemic-era budget stabilization funds, the Raising Child Care Fund, a project of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, today announced it is investing close to half a million over two years in three new state partners who are organizing parents and child care providers to make child care affordable and equitable. The additions mean RCCF’s grantee partners are organizing in 20 states as part of a national movement to transform child care. The new grantees are located in Maine, Utah, and Virginia. Each group has earned commitments from state funders to match at least 10% of their national grant. 

At Maine People’s Alliance, Deputy Director Ben Chin believes this grant will be “transformative.” “This support will empower us to deepen our community engagement, strengthen partnerships, and advocate for policies that ensure every family has access to affordable, high-quality childcare.”

Utah Care for Kids is thrilled for the investment from the Raising Child Care Fund to continue our work of uniting Utah around the public good of an equitable child care system,” said Brigette Weier, the Program Manager at  Utah Association for the Education of Young Children, “We will be able to double down on engaging historically silenced voices in child care and in our communities to lead and shape the movement.”

Virginia Organizing Executive Director Brian Johns stated that, “This support will allow our organizers to identify, recruit, and develop directly-affected parents and caregivers into our child care movement in Virginia.  We will be able to continue to build a powerful campaign to secure dedicated funding for the expansion of accessible affordable child care over these crucial years.” 

“To make lifting the burden of paying for child care off parents’ shoulders a priority, we have to invest in groups that amplify the voices of parents and child care providers to lead the movement,” said Rachel Schumacher, project director for the Raising Child Care Fund. “Child care educators are the workforce behind the workforce. Across the country they are joining with parents to win the public investments and program changes they know are needed to make the system work for all.”

Raising Child Care Fund expansion comes at a critical time for the cause. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act provided a boost of $40 Billion for early childhood education providers and increased access for families. But now all of the ARP child care boost in funding has been allowed to expire in Congress. The child care industry was already operating on slim margins, and the loss of this pandemic funding has already forced child care programs to close their doors or raise fees for families closure is states across the country.

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Race Forward Welcomes Karla Bruce as Chief of Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Race Forward, one of the nation’s largest racial equity organizations, announced today that Karla Bruce, former Chief Equity Officer for Fairfax County, Virginia, has joined the organization as its chief of staff. In this role, Bruce will maximize alignment across the organization to support racial equity, provide strategic counsel and guidance to the president and executive leadership team, and serve as a liaison with internal and external stakeholders. 

“We are excited to have Karla join the Race Forward team,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “She is a proven leader with over 25 years of government management experience. She built the infrastructure to support Fairfax County’s equity planning and decision making. As an organization committed to partnering with both communities and government to advance racial equity, we are excited to have a chief of staff who understands in theory and practice how to drive change.”

Bruce’s appointment as the Chief Equity Officer for Fairfax County, Virginia in June 2018 was historic. She became the first local government, equity- focused senior leader in the jurisdiction, the first in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. 

An accomplished innovator in public service delivery, Bruce successfully bridged the efforts of local government with the collective action of residents and broad networks of partners. During her tenure with Fairfax County, she led the process to adopt the One Fairfax Racial and Social Equity Resolution and Policy. Bruce’s career has earned her numerous accolades across the many sectors with which she has worked, including government, nonprofit, philanthropy, faith, and corporate, and she is a nationally recognized thought leader on the role of government in advancing equity. 

“I am thrilled to join Race Forward after years of working alongside the organization as a partner,” Bruce said. “At this critical moment in our nation, I am particularly excited to be leading the  implementation of our new Strategic Plan which focuses on community and government collaboration to create pathways for equity and inclusion as we continue to work toward building a multiracial democracy.”

“With ongoing attacks on racial equity and democracy, our movement needs leaders who are skilled in and passionate about advancing racial equity,” Harris said. “Karla is such a leader and we are delighted to have her onboard.”
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Rev. Al Sharpton Brings Voting Message to Ohio State

Political, civil rights, social justice activist and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton made his argument for Ohio State students and Ohio residents to vote at a pre-election event held Wednesday at the school’s Fawcett Center.
 
U.S. Rep Joyce Beatty, Jesse Jackson, Jesse Jackson Jr., exonerated Central Park Five members joined Sharpton
Special guests U.S. Rep Joyce BeattyJesse Jackson Jr. along with exonerated Central Park Five members Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise echoed Sharpton’s message of justice, civil rights, and the power of the vote.
Salaam, Wise and three others were wrongfully accused of the 1989 rape and assault of a Central Park jogger.
Jesse Jackson and family members of Coretta Scott King also attended the event.
“You can’t be a strong tree if you don’t know the roots,” Sharpton said as he detailed the history of the racial and social justice struggle throughout U.S. history. “The only people in America that don’t celebrate their history are people that have been given a slave mentality. The first thing they had to do with the slaves was cut them off from history, took their names, and took the culture because if you were connected to your history, you would know you were not born to be slaves.
“Someone with common sense will embrace their roots. So that’s why we’re here today to tell you to reconnect to the roots.”
 
‘If you don’t vote, you are telling us who you are’
The event was non-partisan, but Sharpton said the choice was clear in November’s race for U.S. President between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“Whether you vote or not and who you vote for doesn’t define Kamala (Harris) or (Donald) Trump, it defines you,” he said. “If you don’t vote, you are telling us who you are. If you vote wrong, you are telling us who you are.”
Spotlight PR is a public relations consultancy supporting leaders and organizations advancing justice including Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which builds transformative relational power with everyday Ohioans for statewide social, racial, and economic justice.
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Chris Pugh is the Media Relations Manager for Spotlight PR.

The United States Must Support Policies That Contribute to Human Flourishing Rather Than Human Suffering

For Immediate Release
 
NEW YORK – United Women in Faith decried the escalating violence in the Middle East. In highlighting the horrific humanitarian crisis and the devastation visited on the people of Gaza, the organization urged an immediate and permanent ceasefire, abidance of international norms and protection of human life. It released the following statement, which coincides with the one-year mark of the Israel-Hamas war:
 
“No loss of life is acceptable and the tremendous loss of life in Gaza is devastating. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza, more than a thousand in Israel and more than a thousand in Lebanon. Without immediate action, this war will spread across the world. Whether one lives in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon or some other part of the Middle East, we are all impacted by what is happening in the region.
 
“We condemn anti-Palestinian, antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric that has led to a rise in hate crimes targeting Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim communities in the United States and globally. 
 
“It is imperative that the United States support policies that contribute to human flourishing rather than human suffering. President Biden and the U.S. Congress must ensure that not another dollar is invested in the bombing of women, children and youth. The United States’ continued participation in this war – by explicit or implicit support – is to our national shame. History will not judge us kindly without an immediate change of course in support of the preservation of human life.
 
“As women of faith, we understand that the toll of war is unimaginably steep, and disproportionately felt by women, children and youth. In times of war and instability, women, children and youth are more likely to experience gender-based violence, unwanted pregnancies, displacement, infections and an interruption of access to essential resources like food, water, medicine, social services, and medical care. There is also a physical, psychological, and spiritual impact of war and instability that cannot not be minimized.
 
“We therefore affirm the tenants of The UMC Social Principles, which state, “As disciples of Christ, we are called to love our enemies, seek justice, and serve as reconcilers of conflict. We insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to work together to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them…We believe that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities.”
 
“As world leaders contemplate this grievous situation, the voices and perspectives of women must be at the forefront. Unfortunately, women’s voices are rarely amplified during war. However, as women of faith, we know that women are not just victims but also powerful actors, generating creative and fruitful political solutions. We affirm Palestinian and Israeli women and organizations who have been working for negotiated political solutions. The status quo of continued occupation, denial of self-determination and war will not lead to just and lasting peace, freedom and security for both peoples. All negotiations must include women’s voices and concerns, including complying with the global framework laid out in Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
 
“Finally, with the presidential election just weeks away, the current and incoming administration and Congress must be committed to long-term solutions that promote just and lasting peace. We issue this urgent appeal not just as those devoted to Methodist teachings, but as women seeking to live into our foremothers’ example of tireless advocacy. Without immediate action, this escalating crisis threatens to destroy entire regions, generations, and bloodlines. This is a risk no reasonable person should embrace.”

MSNBC Host Joy-Ann Reid to Headline Race Forward’s Facing Race Conference in St. Louis: Nov. 20-22

For Immediate Release

October 2, 2024

NEW YORK – MSNBC Host Joy-Ann Reid will headline Race Forward’s highly anticipated Facing Race conference. Reid is an MSNBC political analyst and host of “The ReidOut.” She has authored numerous books, including her most recent, “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.”

Facing Race will be held in St. Louis, Nov. 20-22 at the America’s Center Convention Complex. It is the nation’s largest multiracial, intergenerational racial justice conference. More than 4,000 people are expected to attend this year’s conference.

“Throughout its 17-year history, Facing Race has been a one-of-a-kind space that allows community organizers, activists, and movement makers from across the country to meet up, build strategies for advancing racial justice, and receive inspiration for the work ahead,” said Race Forward President Glenn Harris. “We are excited to curate this unique space for cross-cultural collaboration. We are also delighted that attendees will have an opportunity to hear from Joy-Ann Reid who represents the strength of conviction, determination and boldness our movement needs.”

Held biennially, Facing Race provides attendees unprecedented access to resources, information, and collaborative opportunities to help them advance racial justice in their practice. In addition to Reid, audience members will also learn from the American Medical Association (AMA), who is joining the convening as a Trailblazer Sponsor. The AMA’s participation is rooted in their commitment to advancing health equity through the Rise to Health: A National Coalition for Equity in Health Care.

This is the first time since the pandemic the Facing Race conference will be held completely in-person. The organization notes they are committed to facilitating a safe and accessible event for all attendees. “There is something truly special about personal interaction in doing this work,” said Leslie Grant Spann, Race Forward’s director of Conferences and Convenings and the lead organizer of Facing Race. “No one who is fighting for justice should have to figure everything out on their own, but can join us in St. Louis and connect with other movement leaders, and receive support and encouragement.

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