Dear Cradle to Career Network members and supporters,
As we navigate uncharted territory, I’m writing to share my support and encouragement. During times of uncertainty, relationships are paramount. We will get through this and we will do it together.
Like many of you, I’m adjusting to working remotely, my children are trying to figure out how to learn online and we’re worrying about how to keep my aging parents healthy and safe. It’s a stressful time. But, I have access to high-speed internet, quality health care and the financial means to prepare for what lies ahead. This is not the case for far too many families, especially those customarily failed by systems like health care, affordable housing, transportation and others.
The COVID-19 pandemic magnifies the racial and economic inequities in our society. We cannot let up now. Rather, we must lock arms and prepare for the even tougher road ahead. Our work has never been more critical, and I’m more confident than ever that our work is the absolute right work to make change in place. We will do this by shedding light on the systemic barriers that resulted in the crisis we now face. And we will come together to advocate for more equitable policies like paid family and sick leave and access to quality health and childcare. We will transform systems so that next time we are faced with a crisis, our systems will support every child, family and community.
StriveTogether has reached out to the Cradle to Career Network to learn how we can best support communities during this time. Business as usual for us means being responsive to network member needs — and that’s what we have to do right now.
Network members are wrestling with how to both support local partners in addressing the most basic needs of families and do the long-term work to transform systems that fail these families. As a collective, this is what the Cradle to Career Network is ready to explore together. Over the next weeks and months, the StriveTogether team will identify opportunities to support cradle-to-career communities by helping to increase access to technology, advocating for more equitable policies, communicating about changing systems and more.
On behalf of the entire StriveTogether team, thank you for everything you to every single day, especially in times of crisis, to support every child, cradle to career.
Be well,
Jennifer Blatz
President and CEO
