Sunday marks National Children’s Day and an opportunity for adults and kids to have a meeting of the minds. With this mission as its aim, the National Children’s Campaign (NCC) is hosting National Children’s Week, six days of conversations to raise awareness about the issues impacting America’s 74 million children. The digital event will be available for the public to view via NCC’s Facebook page.
“A diverse group of subject matter experts and organizations will participate in virtual events, panels, and webinars,” NCC President and Co-Founder Kimberly Gutzler tells Parentology.
Why this is particularly important now? The impending November election in the US. “Whether it is economic justice, environmental justice, educational justice, health justice, racial justice, or any other issues, we are seeking solutions that create a more just America and future for our children,” Gutzler says.
Echoing Gutzler’s sentiments, NCC’s 18-year-old Executive Director and Co-Founder Jonah Gottlieb says, “Young people like myself are more politically engaged because the stakes are too high to sit on the sidelines while politicians determine our future.”
Not only do kids want those who have the right to vote to speak for them, they want their interests understood and represented. “National Children’s Week is a voter education and mobilization tool,” Gottlieb says. “We hope those joining our six days of virtual activities will be more informed about the issues and more willing to vote on those same issues this November.”
Themes discussed throughout the week include:
- Sunday, June 14 – National Children’s Day Celebration
- Monday, June 15 – Climate & Environment
- Tuesday, June 16 – Education, Child Poverty & COVID-19
- Wednesday, June 17 – Gun Violence & Child Welfare
- Thursday, June 18 – Healthcare
- Friday, June 19 – Voter & Civic Engagement
Myriad guests will be featured during National Children’s Week. Launching the event will be Reverend William Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. Serving on panels will be youth activists including Jamie Margolin of Zero Hour, and adult allies such as Mustafa Santiago Ali of the National Wildlife Federation, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, and actress/singer Antonique Smith.
For more information visit the National Children’s Campaign website. To RSVP for the event visit: Tinyurl.com/RSVPNCW. Tune in via NCC’s Facebook page.
National Children’s Day: Sources
Newsweek
National Children’s Campaign
Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Relief
Zero Hour
National Wildlife Federation
Hip Hop Caucus