Thread by @EarlyLearnNatn

Starting now! We'll be live-tweeting, and sharing takeaways later on if you can't join us now. bit.ly/3LT530K

Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: "We were celebrated as 'essential' during the pandemic, which was the first time we felt validated. And when the budget came out, and we saw we got nothing, I was livid."

Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: I broke one of my cardinal rules, and I spoke out in my anger. And other providers responded with their anger-- it was a breaking point for many of us. You cannot go forward without us.

Merrill Gay of @CTECA: We knew that we couldn't ask every provider for the morning, but we asked them to share how they *could* participate. Could they make signs? Could they share the action?

Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: This was an effort that was 10 years in the making. Many orgs and groups were advocating on your own, and this moment brought us all together.

Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: As a broader group, we started doing a weekly check-in to share resources with each other. This wasn't one group providing to everyone-- this was a collaborative effort to support each other.

Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: For the first time, we saw childcare providers -- at home and at centers-- as a collaborative community. We ended up having 300-400 people on our call.

Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: Relationship and trust building over those months is what led to being able to organize an action in two weeks time.

Marina Rodriguez of @AllOurKin: Over 60 programs showed up and showed out during the #morningwithoutchildcare. We helped our programs and people show up how best they could.

Marina Rodriguez of @AllOurKin: This is the first time that #homebased providers felt like their concerns were treated on par and equally with centers.

Merrill Gay of @CTECA: We knew that if we were going to do an action, we'd need to do something that the media would cover. If no one knew about it, it wouldn't have the impact we wanted.

Merrill Gay of @CTECA: The website had toolkits for providers and for parents. childcareforct.org/march15

Merrill Gay of @CTECA: The sector has a history of fighting over crumbs instead of envisioning a bigger cake for us to share. #BuildBackBetter helped us see that cake.

@CTECA Merrill Gay of @CTECA: We focused *a lot* on providing the tools and structure for people to be able to do it themselves.

Noted in the chat: Stipends were provided to communities which they could use for food, supplies, entertainment. The entire event was done with under $5,000.

Karen Rainville of @CTAEYC: It was a day that was not about one provider, one *type* of provider. It was about CT's children.

.@ehaspel notes that the locations for the rallies were extremely strategic, on purpose.

Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: Before the rallies, we had nothing in the governor's budget. Afterwards, we now have 5 bills going through the legislator.

Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: We knew that if we got large providers, especially in New Haven where the legislators are, to commit, others would follow and pay attention.

@cercle @Hope4NewHaven Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: The mayor of New Haven said, "I have never seen these teachers this upset."

@cercle @Hope4NewHaven Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: We wanted to make sure that the events weren't focused on one person (ie, a legislator) having their moment of fame. This was about the parents and the providers.

@cercle @Hope4NewHaven @CSEA_CT Question: How did you message to parents? A: Marina Rodriguez of @AllOurKin: It was a real concern. We used the language of helping providers to bring in the families and work together on the action.

A, on messaging to parents: Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: We had to tell parents early enough. The providers who had ongoing conversations with their parents had an easier time, because the ask wasn't out of the blue. We made sure they knew it was for *them.*

A, on messaging to parents: Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven: The parents could see themselves in the ask. "We are shutting down for 2 hours for *you.*" They understood that we were fighting for them.

@cercle @Hope4NewHaven A quick screenshot of our excellent panelists: @ehaspel, Georgia Goldburn of @cercle & @Hope4NewHaven, Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT, Merrill Gay of @CTECA, Marina Rodriguez of @AllOurKin, Karen Rainville of @CTAEYC

Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: We worked with parents and providers to collaborate on which times a closure would work for their community. It wasn't dictated to them.

@CSEA_CT Merrill Gay of @CTECA: In Bridgeport, for example, many providers couldn't shut down. So, they had field trips to the rally with the kids that day.

@CSEA_CT @CTECA Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman of @CSEA_CT: There's a May 9th event for the nation being organized by @communitychange: communitychangeaction.org/childcare-may9/