Last week, Strategies for Children hosted a webinar to share our new case study, The 9:30 Call: From Crisis to Enduring Community and Action, which was written by Minna Jung, with support from the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation.
The 9:30 Call webinar was a chance to look back at the challenging, early days of the pandemic and talk about the strategies and approaches that made the call successful, turning it into a powerful, ongoing statewide conversation.
“Having something that is every day, for half an hour, at the same time every morning, at 9:30 has been a place where folks know that if they have a question, if they’re interested in a topic, if something does come up, they know that they can come to this space,†Marisa Fear, Strategies’ Director of Policy, says about The 9:30 Call in the webinar.
Webinar participants shared key takeaways about how to build a statewide advocacy community. Among the lessons:
• Connection is empowering. “It was an absolute lifeline for me,†Donna Denette says. Denette is the executive director of Children First Enterprises, Inc., a multi-service child care center in Granby, Mass.
• Inclusivity is crucial. A question that was regularly asked was, Who is missing? This led to the creation of The 9:30 Call at Night and The 9:30 Call at Night in Spanish.
• As Titus DosRemedios, Strategies’ deputy director, says in the webinar, it’s important to provide an open platform that is friendly and relaxed.
• The 9:30 Call connected the early childhood community to legislators and state officials. Lucas Skorczeski, co-executive director of the Acre Family Child Care, recalled how people would sometimes bring their children to The 9:30 Call so the kids could hear lawmakers speak.
• The Call became a resource for philanthropists. Brian Dixon, the grants manager & program officer at the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, said joining the call made him a better funder.
• “Progress moves at the speed of trust,†Sara Slaughter, the executive director of the Stone Foundation, says. And building trust was a key benefit of The 9:30 Call.
To hear more about the call and the case study, check out the webinar; be sure to share the content with your professional and social networks; and please take the advice that Amy O’Leary, Strategies’ executive director, shares at the end of the webinar:
“Find somebody and make sure they know that they belong here at The 9:30 Call.â€