As the New Year approaches, the staff at the Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is reflecting on the accomplishments of 2019, while looking forward to continuing our work to improve the lives of Vermont’s young children, families, and early childhood professionals in 2020. In 2019, the 25th annual Early Childhood Day at the Legislature brought record numbers of early childhood providers and professionals, parents, and employers together with lawmakers to discuss the priority issues from the Alliance’s Legislative Agenda. The 2019 legislative session showed that children were a clear priority in the State House, and the FY20 budget included the largest investment in child care and Reach Up in years. In the discussions on these issues and many others, our advocacy voice – your advocacy voice – was heard by legislators. In the spring, the featured speaker at our Annual Membership Meeting brought renewed focus to our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The summer and fall were busy with advocacy sessions, site visits around the state, and keeping members informed about early childhood issues. In the second half of the year, the Alliance also welcomed two new staff members to our team – Charlie Gliserman, Public Engagement Director, and Amy Russo-Perler, Outreach Manager. At the close of 2019, the Alliance is making plans for the year ahead, including launching the 2020 Legislative Agenda, which will focus on 12 issues related to health, safety, food security, economic security, and early child care and education, opening our new membership cycle, and hosting Early Childhood Day at the Legislature on March 11th (registration will open in January). In the midst of all of this work and planning, we take a moment to thank you all for being part of the Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance, and for speaking up on behalf of Vermont’s children. It’s a pleasure working together. You’ll be hearing from us next in early January. Best wishes for a warm and enjoyable holiday season. Happy holidays from all of us! |
