Speaking of anniversaries, the fine advocacy group Action for Children North Carolina celebrated its 30th last week. Executive Director Deborah Bryan sent us the following essay in contemplation of the event.  

Supporting Our Children’s Past, Present and Future

Since 1983, North Carolinians have raised millions of children–and we have millions more to go. Each in a small but real way holds the state’s future in his or her hands. Action for Children North Carolina exists to give them every opportunity to succeed. The last 30 years points the way for the decades to come.

Action for Children’s network of support has ensured that the voices of our children are heard in local and state government, school districts and even our state’s juvenile and adult correctional facilities.

Our advocates have worked tirelessly to:

*expand Health Choice to cover more than 140,000 children;

*ensure the passage of critical child safety laws like the booster seat law and the child bicycle safety act;

*orchestrate the ban of corporal punishment in nearly all of North Carolina’s school districts; and

*help lift nearly 300,000 North Carolinians, half of whom were children, above the federal poverty line through passage of the Earned Income Tax Credit–all successes we achieved together.

Even with all of these accomplishments, our work is far from complete. Read More…