Dollar Per Child Campaign
About the Campaign
Convincing Congress, and voters who are leery of any national program, is extraordinarily difficult these days. That’s why we need a dollar per child – one dollar for each of the million children in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs across the nation.
Millions of American children are in desperate need of the window of opportunity for success that Head Start and Early Head Start offer. The National Head Start Association’s (NHSA) advocacy efforts raise awareness of their need and help to keep the window open for more children. For just one dollar for every child currently enrolled, NHSA can ensure that the voices of Head Start children and their families are heard loudly and clearly!
Dollar Per Child is a National Head Start Association program. Contributions made to Dollar per Child help maintain high media visibility about Head Start issues, hold trainings on current Head Start legal issues, and impact public policy and legislation. Recently, the Dollar per Child program has funded a successful advocacy campaign that secured $2.1 billion in new funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programs that include a cost-of-living increase for Head Start and Early Head Start teachers and staff ensure funds to maintain the quality of Head Start programs, and provide funds to expand Head Start and Early Head Start enrollment.
Download the National Head Start Association Dollar Per Child Toolkit and get started today!
Government Relations
NHSA’s government relations team wears out a lot of shoe leather. With a nearly constant presence on Capitol Hill in Washington, the team makes sure Members of Congress have the facts about Head Start and Early Head Start and know about and are connected to the programs in their districts and states. Our team works hard in a nonpartisan way to develop relationships with Republicans and Democrats alike – there are Head Start champions on both sides of the aisle.
Developed each year collaboratively with members of the Head Start and Early Head Start community, NHSA’s Policy Agenda guides the work of the Government Relations team as they work with Congress, the Administration and the Office of Head Start to develop or modify early childhood education legislation and policy, and policies and regulations governing Head Start and Early Head Start. Like all of our advocacy work, we strive to make sure the right people hear the voices of the Head Start community.
Not a single dollar of federal funds or membership dues is spent in support of NHSA’s advocacy work.
Who is in Charge?
Parents should be the lead force in creating any Dollar per Child Campaign event or activity and staff, during non-work hours, should take a supporting role. Therefore, it is important that parents come together to make their campaign happen. Staff representatives from the agencies can participate by volunteering their time after program hours.
Community Involvement
The Dollar per Child Campaign is also a great opportunity to involve the community. Connecting with local businesses, agencies, and community groups not only helps to strengthen an event, but can be a great way to reach out and send the message of the importance of Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the community. Reaching out to local high schools and universities is a great way to get additional volunteers for your fundraisers. Get involved today!
Where do your contributions go?
Some of the actions your Dollar per Child contribution enabled us to take in recent years:
- In 2013 we organized Stroll-in and Hands-in activities, on a national scale, to demonstrate the effects of sequestration
- Represented the interests of Head Start children on more than 120 Congressional visits on Capitol Hill in 2014
- In 2014, 33 media pieces, letters to the editor and op-eds were directly supported by the NHSA media team
- Sent more than NUMBER messages to Members of Congress and President Obama in 2014
- ln 2014, 65 conversations were held with the Head Start field, academics, think tanks and policy makers in preparation for Head Start’s next reauthorization
- Perhaps most importantly of all, continue to provide a unified voice for millions of Head Start children
Voluntary contributions are the critical source of our advocacy support. Interested in contributing to Dollar per Child to help ensure that every Head Start child’s interests are represented in Washington?