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“There are so many opportunities to lighten the load on young families, but I’m asking you to prioritize investing in TANF and consider enacting a state tax credit to help families make ends meet. I dream of a community where parents can be fully present with their families, not split in two as many of us are—physically present, but internally worrying about making ends meet or what will have to be sacrificed until the next pay period.”
This poignant wish was expressed in a letter written by an Avondale Estates mother of a baby boy. She and more than 150 others from 33 Georgia cities brought their babies and toddlers to the state capitol on February 6th for GEEARS’ eighth annual Strolling Thunder.
These parents, along with other caregivers, early childhood professionals, volunteers, and event partners, had been well-prepared for this day of advocacy.
They’d attended GEEARS’ virtual trainings where parents shared the inspiration behind their advocacy.
“I don’t want my kids to experience what I experienced growing up,” one attendee said. “I want a better education and future for them.”
Another declared that advocacy was part of her parenting: “I want to start my daughter off now in understanding the need to speak up.”
As a result of the training, attendees wrote letters to their legislators telling their stories and making “asks” for policies that support working parents, young children with disabilities, early educators, and more.
While the sun was still rising on the 6th, they arrived at the event’s home base at the Georgia Freight Depot, donned GEEARS-issued T-shirts emblazoned with Little Voices for Big Change and wiggled their kiddos into onesies that read, Georgia’s Future Begins With Me.
Their agenda? Deliver their letters to their lawmakers’ offices. Summon their elected officials to “the ropes” outside of the House and Senate chambers for some meaningful face time. Or have a sit-down with them at GEEARS’ luncheon, to which all the legislators had been sent invitations affixed to sugar cookies shaped like baby bottles.
Did all these carefully laid plans go off without a hitch? Of course not! There were poopy diapers, temper tantrums, and long waits for the Gold Dome’s famously sluggish elevators. (Given all our strollers, taking the grand staircases wasn’t an option.)
And yet, the Strolling Thunder little ones still filled the hallways of the Georgia General Assembly with smiles and giggles. Most importantly, families got a chance to introduce these children to their legislators. In addition, resolutions sponsored by Chairmen Matt Dubnik and Brian Strickland respectively, were read in both the House and Senate. They declared February 6th Strolling Thunder Day and highlighted the importance of supporting young children.
All of Strolling Thunder’s happy chaos was exactly the point. Being an advocate can be messy. It requires do-overs and persistence. It means long waits and missed naps and voices gone hoarse from speaking over the din of the crowded Capitol.
But the families who came to this year’s event all seemed to agree: This effort is worth it. It works.
“I feel like as long as we keep showing up,” said Santeria Hunter, a Fulton County mom of three daughters under age five, “they’re going to keep giving us what we need for our kids and being the support behind it.”
When Hunter met with her Senator, Jason Esteves, for instance, he readily agreed that Georgia needs more Head Start subsidies for child care. Hunter’s nine-month-old, cuddled in her arms as the mother and the Senator spoke, lent a sweet face to this urgent need.
Other attendees felt a similar conviction about their brief but meaningful Strolling Thunder encounters.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. I thank y’all for advocating,” said a staffer in Representative Rhonda Taylor’s office to Hodan Mohamoud, who paid a call with two of her home visiting clients—Bimala Mangar and her two-year-old daughter—to ask for more support for the program.
Even just a brush with their senator, Sheikh Rahman, was heartening for Tatiana Landazabal and her 12-year-old, Oliver, who skipped a day of school to come to Strolling Thunder.
“It wasn’t a big conversation or anything but we did see him,” Landazabal said as she and Oliver waited in the lunch line at the Freight Depot. She said it gave her hope knowing that GEEARS would deliver to Rahman her letter, in which she asked for “a housing program that gives single mothers like myself the opportunity to save or raise up a business that will establish a secured income so they can do all roles . . . mother, professional, and woman looking out for herself.”
No matter how small the encounter, just as Santeria Hunter observed, there was real power in simply showing up at Strolling Thunder.
An Augusta family showed up to share about the inclusive and integrated experience their two-year-old, who has Mosaic Down Syndrome, receives at Apparo Academy. Apparo is “one of only two specialized preschools in Georgia that provide individualized education and therapy for children with disabilities,” Jaeger wrote in her letter to her elected officials. “Without Apparo, we would have had to take [our son] to multiple locations for therapy—an impossible task while working full-time and without family support.”
Legislators showed up to demonstrate that that they take seriously their obligations to serve all their constituents, even the ones so little that they can’t yet vote or speak for themselves.
Our sponsor, Junior League of Atlanta, and a dozen community partners showed up to support parent advocates with information, resources, and understanding.
And finally, GEEARS showed up, spending months to orchestrate this massive event so that Georgia’s youngest children, with ample help from their families and educators, could communicate their rights and needs. Year after year, we amplify those voices—messy and slow-moving though the process is—because they are the ones that matter most.
For those who weren’t able to make it to Strolling Thunder this year, know that you can still make your voice heard! Use GEEARS’ Policy Agenda to learn about policies that align with the family-friendly issues you care about. Then use our Action Alert page to find key legislation and easily contact your elected officials.
This is sponsored content.
The post “As Long as We Keep Showing Up.” GEEARS’ Eighth Annual Strolling Thunder appeared first on SaportaReport.