A League of Women Voters of Marion’s public meeting at Epworth Methodist Church on Thursday, March 17, 2016 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., will feature “Are We Crazy About Our Kids?“, a 32 minute video from “The Raising of America'”(RoA) series. Organizers say the video will present provocative and compelling evidence of the critical importance of quality, accessible and affordable Early Childhood Care/Education (ECCE) for all children in a community, birth to 5 years old.
Documentary style interviews of early childhood educators, parents, and of business professionals demonstrate how quality ECCE not only provides for the health, well-being and happiness of children and adults, but also very significantly affects and contributes to building and supporting a community’s economy.
Chaired by League member and Nursing/Public Health professional Rosemary Chaudry, this event will also include a brief presentation of statistics about ECCE on both the national and on the local Marion County level, as well as a short period of roundtable discussions centered on the information provided by the two presentations. Moderator for the meeting will be Jim Craycraft, retired Superintendent of Tri-Rivers Career Center, who currently serves as Program Coordinator/Continuing Education for The Ohio State University Marion.
The website for “The Raising of America”‘ provides a description of the RoA’s five-part documentary series, indicating that the series attempts to reframe the way Americans look at early childhood (birth to 5 yrs.) health and development. The documentary explores the questions: Why are so many children in America faring so poorly? What are the consequences for the nation’s future? How might we, as a nation, do better? The series looks at these questions through different lenses: What does science tell us about the enduring importance of early life experiences on the brain and body? What is it like to be a parent today? What policies and structures help or hinder the raising of healthy, happy and successful children?
A committee of LWVM members, as well as other interested members of the Marion community, previewed all 5 videos of the RoA series. The committee chose the “Are We Crazy About Our Kids?” video as the first to show to the community at the March 17 public meeting. The purpose of this event is to create a heightened community awareness of the ECCE issue, as well as to serve as a starting point for community discussion and potentially for future action concerning what we as a community can do to better assure that our kids and community residents of the Marion area will be happy, healthy, and successful within a strong community environment.
The League of Women Voters of Marion is a nonpartisan political organization that has been serving members and the people of Marion since 1950. LWVO encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League is a non-profit organization financed by member dues and contributions, and through donations from the community, which enable public-spirited citizens to help support the work of the League.
League is seeking new members. Membership is open to all women and men of voting age. If desired, memberships can be designated to honor or memorialize someone, or be given as a gift. To purchase a membership or make a donation to League contact 740-389-5356 or [email protected].
For more information about League of Women Voters activities and programs, and/or for more information about the March 17 meeting, contact Jo Ann Zimmerman 740-389-5795 or [email protected].
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