From: Stephen N. Smith <ssmith@wvhealthykids.org>
Date: Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Subject: You are invited to join Sen Manchin and Bishops Bransfield, Duncan, and Steiner Ball this Monday
To:
Featuring
Senator Joe Manchin
Bishop Michael J. Bransfield
and testimony from
West Virginia families affected by budget issues
Monday, Dec. 3rd * Reception 9:30am * Program begins 10:00am
Especially during this holiday season, we are called by all of our faith traditions to serve the most vulnerable. At this event, we will hear from West Virginia's religious leaders and everyday families about what's truly at stake in the federal budget debate. We will also hear responses from members of the WV Congressional delegation about what they will do in Washington to put West Virginia families before partisan politics. With any extra time, we will entertain questions and hear a benediction.
Hosted and sponsored by the West Virginia Council of Churches, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, the United Methodist Conference, National Association of Social Workers (WV Chapter), and the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. For more information, or to co-sponsor or RSVP for this important event, please contact WV Healthy Kids and Families Director Stephen Smith at ssmith@wvhealthykids.org (write RSVP or SPONSOR in e-mail heading). Free and open to the public. Co-sponsorship entails adding your name to the sponsoring organizations, sending at least one representative, helping to publicize the event to your lists, and signing on to our Child Poverty Campaign list to receive future updates - please also let Stephen know if you know a family who would like to give one of the formal 2-3 minute testimonies; we have limited time in the program and are looking for families who draw on a diverse range of experiences. Please note this event has been organized on extremely short notice to accommodate the Congressional calendar; we appreciate your help posting, reproducing, and e-mailing this flier widely.
· We have grown from 24 to 108 Partners, including new partners in Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Weirton, Wheeling, Martinsburg, Moorefield, Logan, Dunbar, Huntington, Wayne County, Fayetteville, Morgantown, Buckhannon, Fairmont, as well as partners like the WV Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, WV Wesleyan, Gayle Manchin, the Parent Teacher Association, and more than 25 new child and family groups.
· We have already conducted 19 community meetings, have scheduled 22 others, and have received commitments to host an additional 30+ by early 2013.
· We have unearthed 21 concrete potential proposals that could help to raise young children out of poverty, and we will narrow these down to a platform of 5-10 issues that we will pursue in 2013. These have come straight from our meetings with partners, as well as community meetings with parents, kids, and advocates. A sample of key issues include: Child Care Cuts, Expanding Healthy Foods and Option Pathways in Schools, Literacy in Child Care, Justice Reinvestment, Medicaid Expansion, and an Education Demonstration Project on the West Side of Charleston.
· Our campaign has been twice featured in the media, through an Op-Ed in the Sunday Gazette and a radio production by the West Virginia News Service.
· Senator Kessler, Senator Unger, and Delegate Perdue have offered to work with us to hold a day (or multiple days) in the legislature where committees would hear testimony from kids, families, and advocates, and vote on our issues. Joanne Tomblin has offered to co-host a legislative reception, and Gayle Manchin has also offered to co-host a launch or reception. We have commitments for 200+ people to join us on this day, and growing.
· Regional Forums in districts around the state: Senator Unger and Rev. Grove have also offered to host a community forum, over a weekend while the legislature is in session, in the Eastern Panhandle to draw further attention to our issue – something that could be replicated in other parts of the state (Fayette, Logan, Northern Panhandle, Parkersburg and Huntington, have also expressed interest).
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304.610.6512
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Sky Kershner
Kanawha Pastoral Counseling
Charleston, WV
304-346-9689
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