Strong Starts for Children
In spring 2010, Everyday Democracy launched Strong Starts for Children, a New Mexico-based initiative that aimed to help communities work together for the success of all children. With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the initiative worked closely with five communities in New Mexico to help them find ways for all kinds of people to talk, work, and take action together on issues related to the success of all children from birth to eight.
As part of the initiative, Everyday Democracy:
- helped communities build on what they were already doing,
involving all kinds of people in talking about and taking action on creating success for all children.
- provided resources and tools to sustain the kind of public participation that leads to equitable problem solving, policy change, and improved conditions in children’s lives, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
Click here to learn more about the background of the initiative.
Stories from the initiative:
Teen advocates for ending child homelessness emerge through film festival
Teens in the Albuquerque, N.M. area are working to end child homelessness by giving the issue a familiar face. The film festival was an action idea that came out of the Strong Starts for Children project.
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Connecting community work to state policy
Dialogue participants joined legislators and early childhood advocates in a policy forum designed to explore New Mexico's policy options and make recommendations to the Legislature on issues related to early childhood development.
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Bridging youth and early childhood movements in New Mexico
Roberta Rael, project manager for the KUNM Youth Radio Project, discusses the importance of empowering youth through leadership roles and engaging them in early childhood development work.
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Video stories from the initiative:
Generous funding for this initiative comes from the Our Voices, Our Children initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Our Voices, Our Children is aimed at engaging citizens and policymakers in talks about the future of early childhood development in New Mexico. These community and state-level dialogues will reveal perceptions, priorities and policy preferences, and ultimately help improve practices and programs.