By GEEARS
On Tuesday, February 7th, Grey Kovacs marched down a hallway of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at the Georgia Capitol. She had a long journey past quiet, glass-fronted offices to reach the workplace of her representative, Stacey Evans of House District 57, where she would deliver a letter advocating for paid family leave.
Along the way, Grey paused, tossed her blond ponytail, and belted out a series of shrieks, accompanied by some very wet raspberries.
Grey, it should be noted, is 22 months old.
And her very age-appropriate behavior was forgiven because this advocacy outing was all about her—and the 630,000-plus other children under five who live in Georgia. The day was called Strolling Thunder and, this was the sixth year in a row that GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students orchestrated this opportunity for families of young children to speak to their legislators with their babies on board.
At Strolling Thunder, families visited the Gold Dome to meet legislators in their offices, at “the ropes” outside their chambers, and during a fun-filled lunch at Central Presbyterian Church. Throughout the day, kids paused to build with giant Lego bricks and clamor for baby dolls made by a balloon artist. Also on hand were representatives from some of GEEARS’ partner organizations, Fathers Incorporated, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Helping Mamas, and Quality Care for Children.
All of this involved a tremendous amount of preparation.
The week prior to the day at the Capitol, GEEARS hosted virtual advocacy trainings to empower families to share their stories and express their needs to policymakers. They also encouraged attendees to write letters to deliver in person on the 7th.
Then, very early on Strolling Thunder Day, the GEEARS staff lugged toys, photo booth equipment, sparkly headbands, and enough juice boxes for a tiny, diaper-clad army to our home base in the church’s social hall.
One…
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