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Good Beginnings - Advocacy Efforts
How you can participate

"Education is everyone's business in Hawaii. The responsibility of creating an environment for our children to receive quality care and education lies well beyond state government and Hawaii's educators." - Nonie Toledo, vice president and general manager of Sprint Hawaii and member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable.

• Educate family and friends about the importance of the early years
• Speak out to the media and at public hearings about the needs of children and families
• Call/write your elected officials and encourage them to support child-friendly legislation
• Support elected leaders that prioritize young children and their families
• VOTE (link to voter registration site)
• Sign up to be on the Champions for Children listserv to receive hearing notices and updates about what is happening at the legislature

For policymakers

• Ensure families are able to pay for, and can find, quality early childhood learning programs.
• Support parents with young children - culturally, emotionally, financially, and medically - so that no child in Hawaii is left hungry in mind, body or spirit.
• Increase funding for early childhood sites to improve the quality of their programs.
• Provide integrated and responsive services in communities.
• Measure Hawaii's progress towards improving the lives of young children.
• Provide early childhood practitioners with ongoing opportunities for meaningful education so that they are well trained and valued.

"Good Beginnings had developed a number of new partnerships that seek to break the cycles that leave many of our youngest children in poor health, neglected, abused and ill prepared to begin school. Our strategy is to convene partners to help the coming generation of young children to succeed in the 21st century." - Robert R. Midkiff, past president, Good Beginnings Board of Directors.

Good Beginnings Alliance is a member of Voices for America's Children.