| |  | Alliance Legislative Agenda: Weekly Issue Spotlight – Housing and Homelessness – 3/18 This winter, the Alliance is hosting virtual Weekly Issue Spotlights leading up to ECDL. Each session focuses on one or two issues from the Alliance’s 2024 Legislative Agenda. Joined by representatives from the lead organizations, participants can ask direct questions and hear a brief legislative update regarding the issues. The next session will be held Monday, March 18, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, and focuses on one issue on our Legislative Agenda – Housing and Homelessness: Ensure Access to Safe, Stable, and Affordable Housing. Led by Beverly Boget from the Alliance, this session is a great opportunity to learn more about this issue, where it stands in the Legislature, and how to get involved. Register on Zoom to receive the meeting link. | | | |  | Alliance Equity Discussion – Forming an Advisory Committee – 3/29 Join a group of peers and colleagues from the early childhood community to engage in sustained learning about anti-racism, equity, and inclusion. The Alliance hosts a monthly, salon-style Equity Discussion Group via Zoom. Our next session is coming up on Friday, March 29, at 1:00 pm. This month’s discussion will be about how to develop and launch a community based, BIPOC advisory group to assist an organization in their work, and will be led by Sarah Kenney, from Let’s Grow Kids. She will shape her discussion around the formation of the LGK Families of Color Advisory Committee. Register on Zoom to receive the meeting link. | | | |  | Afterschool Expansion Grant – Extended to 3/20 Vermont Afterschool announces the official launch of Vermont’s $3.5 million Afterschool Expansion Grant program. The grants will support expansion of existing afterschool programs, creation of new programs, and creation of comprehensive afterschool centers. Vermont schools and other municipal, private, and nonprofit afterschool programs are encouraged to apply for these $15,000-$150,000 grants. Funding for the Afterschool Expansion Grants was made possible by the passage of Act 78 in the last legislative session, which established a dedicated, annual funding source to increase afterschool and summer program capacity. The deadline for the Act 78 State Afterschool Grant has been extended to March 20. More information about the grant, including the application, can be found on the Agency of Education website. | | | |  | | | One Month Until ECDL - Register Now! We are one month out from the 30th Annual Early Childhood Day at the Legislature (ECDL) on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier! The issues on our 2024 Legislative Agenda will play central roles at this year’s ECDL, and we are filling the Day's schedule with informative sessions that cover all of our issues and more. Registration will be limited this year because of venue restrictions. We encourage you to register early! To register a group larger than five, please contact Taylor Hughey, Alliance Outreach Manager, at taylor@vecaa.org. Visit the Alliance website for more information about the sessions and to register. | | | | | |  | | | | | The Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is a statewide coalition formed in 2000 of early childhood professionals, parents, organizations, businesses, and strategic partners committed to improving public policies that impact young children between birth and age eight in the areas of health, safety, food security, economic security, and early care and education. The Alliance crafts an annual Legislative Agenda in partnership with early childhood organizations, provides year-round advocacy support, and facilitates meaningful interactions with policymakers at key times during the decision making process. | | | | 7 School Street | Montpelier , Vermont 05602 vecaa.org The Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is a program of the Vermont Community Loan Fund. | | | | | | | | | |
