Haga clic aquí para leer invitacion en español.
Calling families with children ages 0 to 3 to participate in Strolling Thunder 2020! Even as we face an unprecedented health and economic crisis, all Rhode Island kids, regardless of zip code, race, ethnicity, or family income, deserve to get off the right start in life.
As news about COVID-19 has evolved, we have decided to change this year’s Strolling Thunder to a virtual event happening through social media on May 20, 2020! Please join us by sending a photo of your family with a baby in a stroller so we can share it on social media and connect you with your elected representatives in the General Assembly and Congress.
We would also like to know a little bit about you and the reasons you support these policies. By sharing your personal experiences (we’ve included simple prompts in the registration form), you’ll educate your policymakers on how the priorities below would impact families across RI.
- More funding for child care so that programs can meet health, safety, and quality standards when they reopen, while being affordable for essential workers and the general public. Child care is essential and programs need extensive support to reopen and operate safely.
- More funding for family home visiting programs to continue virtual support to parents and drop off of resources needed by families with new babies and young children at home. Programs like Healthy Families, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers can be a lifeline for families.
- Strategies to raise the wages of early educators in child care and home visiting programs. Professionals who work with our youngest children should not earn poverty-level wages.
Click here to learn more about the RIght from the Start Campaign’s policy priorities.
How can I participate?
- Submit a photo of your family with your child(ren) ages 0 to 3 in a stroller and complete the participation form by Sunday, May 17th. We’ll put our event frame on your photo and send it back to you. To join our virtual Strolling Thunder RI event, you can make it your profile image AND share it in a Facebook/Twitter post on Wednesday, May 20th!. Haga clic aquí para registrarse en español.
- Share this invite with your network, sign up for the RIght from the Start newsletter, and follow RIght From the Start on social media.
A gift to say thank you!
We have eighty $25 Amazon e-gift cards to share with families who participate by sending a photo and completing the participation. We’re hoping to receive a photo from all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island – from Burrillville to Little Compton and Westerly to Woonsocket. The first family to submit from each city/town will receive an e-gift card as a thank you for participating. We will offer remaining gift cards to families who submit their photo and participation form early. We hope this gift card helps your family during this difficult time.
Click here to see photos from last year’s event. We are disappointed that we are not able to gather in-person this year, and we look forward to seeing your photo submissions.
Sincerely,
RIght from the Start
RIght From the Start Campaign
RIght from the Start is a campaign to advance policies for young children and their families in Rhode Island. RIght from the Start Steering Committee members include Beautiful Beginnings, Economic Progress Institute, Latino Policy Institute, Rhode Island Association for Infant Mental Health, Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, and Woonsocket Head Start Child Development Association..
Think Babies Rhode Island
Think Babies Rhode Island is part of a national movement to advance state policies benefiting infants and toddlers. We are working to improve access to high-quality child care for infants and toddlers, paid family leave, evidence-based family home visiting, regular and routine developmental screenings with access to Early Intervention and other needed services, including infant, early childhood, and family mental health services. Strolling Thunder is made possible in partnership with Think Babies Rhode Island and Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.
Reopening Child Care in Rhode Island During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Department of Human Services and the Office of Child Care have released a number of new policies and draft regulations related to the goal of reopening Rhode Island’s child care programs by June 1st. This page is meant as a resource for child care providers and early childhood educators by providing links to RIght from the Start recommendations, DHS information, CDC guidelines, and surveys to provide feedback, questions, and concerns about reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
