Voices for Virginia's Children

🚨Rewind: In case you missed it 🚨

Amirah Ahmed (she/her) is the Summer 2024 Communications Intern at Voices for Virginia’s Children! She supports the curation, development, and management of various aspects of the communications process at Voices. Working side-by-side with the team, she is developing her own voice while growing her knowledge and skill in the field and policy. Amirah is a member of the Virginia Youth in Action 2023-2024 cohort, where she sharpened her storytelling skills and provided feedback to policymakers on policies that affected her and fellow youth across Virginia. Outside of Voices, she is a seasoned community organizer in the Central and Northern Virginia regions, working primarily to build new structures and create and healing in Muslim and Arab communities. Amirah is a rising senior at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. She is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Social Justice; her eyes are set on furthering her education with a graduate program in Social Work and Community Development. Help us welcome Amirah to the team!

Join us as we honor the incredible impact of advocates and organizations dedicated to making a difference in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the 2024 Amplify Awards & 30th Anniversary Celebration! Reasons to attend: - Engage and celebrate local individuals and organizations making a difference for young people across the Commonwealth of Virginia. - Learn more about the 30 years of impact Voices has accomplished in collaboration with trusted partners and the way forward as we embark on a new strategic plan. - Enjoy special guest presentations, a secret reveal, and so much more as we launch our 30th Anniversary event series and campaign. For sponsorship opportunities, contact [email protected]!

Due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance issues among K–12 schools in the U.S. have worsened dramatically in recent years. During the 2021–22 school year, 14.7 million U.S. students were chronically absent — a significant increase from the 8.2 million students who were chronically absent in the last school year pre-pandemic. Visit the link below and download the 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book to learn more about the educational performance of children in your state. https://lnkd.in/grmC2ZRj

Mikayla Havison, (she/her) is the Policy and Programs Intern with Voices for Virginia’s Children for the summer! Mikayla is a Master of Public Policy student at the University of Virginia and recently graduated with a Bachelor of English. Her policy areas of interest are child advocacy and juvenile justice, so she is beyond excited to be a policy intern for Voices this summer. Previously, Mikayla interned for the juvenile probation office in Charlottesville, where she developed her passion for improving the lives of young people. Outside of class and work, she is the president of the Culture of Respect Educators at UVA, a sexual harm prevention organization that gives workshops to new college students and every fraternity. Additionally, Mikayla teaches young people at the Fralin Museum of Art and has written numerous articles about health and wellbeing for her school's newspaper, the Cavalier Daily. She looks forward to exploring the intersection of her policy knowledge, writing abilities, and passion for advocacy. Help us welcome Mikayla to the team!

Don't miss out on the 2024 Amplify Awards & 30th Anniversary Celebration honoring advocates in Virginia! Join us on Thursday, September 12th at 6:30 PM. Click this link for more details and to get tickets: https://ow.ly/UnKw50Smsq1 #AmplifyAwards #30thAnniversary #VirginiaAdvocates #MakingADifference #GetYourTicketsNow

Only 1 in 4 eighth graders in the U.S. are scoring at or above proficient — a noticeable decline from pre-pandemic figures. It’s critical that we continue working to ensure all kids have the opportunity to develop the high-level math, reading and digital problem-solving skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. Download the 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book for an in-depth look at the academic successes and challenges of children in your state. https://lnkd.in/grmC2ZRj

We’re proud to partner with Annie E. Casey Foundation on its 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book release! In addition to providing the latest data on child well-being and a detailed analysis of well-being trends, this year’s report takes an in-depth look at the academic setbacks children have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes solutions to better support the educational achievement of all U.S. kids. Download the full report to learn more about how our state is working for kids. https://lnkd.in/grmC2ZRj

Last year, we unveiled the inaugural Amplify Awards Ceremony, celebrating the impact of local advocates and organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 🌟 This year, we're back to uplift even more incredible work as we celebrate 30 years of advocacy at Voices for Virginia's Children! 🎉 Join us for a packed evening with notable guests, engaging activities, an exciting reveal, and of course, our amazing honorees. 📅 Save the Date: September 12, 2024 ⏰ Time: 6:30 PM 📍 Location: Main Street Station, Downtown Richmond Early Bird tickets ($100) go live this Friday at 12:00 PM. Don't miss out on a night to remember! Stay tuned for more information on tickets, our program, and the honorees! #AmplifyAwards #VoicesForVaChildren #30YearsStrong #AdvocacyCelebration

What is Virginia doing to improve child well-being? Our partner Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released ITS KIDS COUNT Data Book, which uses national and state data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health and family and community — to assess how each state is working for kids. Download the full report to learn more. https://lnkd.in/grmC2ZRj