How parents can use KidsCampaigns

Unflinching dedication to our children's well-being is a powerful force, a growing movement—one fueled by information. "Sometimes a mom can move a mountain," says Renee Edelman, a mother in Amherst, New York. A dad can too. The problem is, parents often feel isolated from other like-minded parents. KidsCampaigns offers you a way to find the information you need and connect with good organizations and parents' groups around the country.

	Get started—and keep going—by using the KidsCampaigns online primer (it's also offered in traditional book form) called "101 Things You Can Do for Our Children's Future," by Richard Louv. The guide shows parents and others what they can do now to enhance their family lives, make their neighborhoods safer for children, activate their places of worship on behalf of children, help create family-friendly companies, and take action for children in their towns, states and nation.
	Get smart: Find the data and documents you need from the U.S. Census Bureau, other federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations. For example, check out Carnegie Corporation's recommendations on what parents can do to boost achievement of children during the critical years between ages 3-10. And The Child Care site has reports that can be downloaded or purchased from the Census Bureau, including data on child care enrollment and child care costs to working parents.
	Get connected: Find out what people and organizations around the country are doing to improve the lives of kids—and how you can help.
	Headline stories: Visit our new section on teens, drugs, and parenting; learn how neighbors can protect children from crime and drugs. For example: Molly Wetzel, an Oakland, Ca. mom, created Safe Streets Now!, a national organization which teaches neighbors how to file collective lawsuits against property owners who allow drug dealing and other crime on their properties. Explore other new and effective tools to make our streets, parks and homes safe for kids. And learn how parents and schools can replace negative peer pressure with positive adult influences.
	Use this feature to find the information and contacts you're looking for, from child care studies to child support reform to monitoring your kids' use of the information superhighway.
	Sign our Guestbook, fill out our survey—and most important, give KidsCampaigns and its readers your feedback. Let us know what you're doing in your home, your neighborhood, your children's school, your workplace, your church, and your community to improve the lives of kids.
	An outlined guide to KidsCampaigns—from the news room to the most recent government studies to our favorite links to child advocacy organizations.