LWV APPLETON board members recently voted unanimously to support the statewide End Child Poverty Campaign. Members were encouraged to endorse the campaign’s goal of cutting child poverty in half in Wisconsin in the next ten years and reducing poverty’s racial disparity. The campaign is led by Kids Forward, WISDOM, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Council of Churches. The board’s action followed an earlier vote by the LWVWI state board to support the campaign and an End Child Poverty presentation at this year’s state convention.

The initial step of gathering 10,000 endorsements of the End Child Poverty goal (currently at 3,500) will demonstrate to our state legislators that people in Wisconsin prioritize ending the scourge of poverty for our children. After establishing this goal by the legislature, the campaign will work to identify multi-sector, evidence-based strategies at the scale capable of achieving the poverty reduction goal.

LWV Appleton urges League members, colleagues, friends, and neighbors to add your personal endorsements at www.endchildpovertywi.org/endorse. The website offers an exciting four-minute video, a PowerPoint presentation, news articles, and more.  

Recent poverty studies done by the Leagues in Manitowoc, Ashland/Bayfield and Ripon offer valuable information for taking next steps. Leagues interested in scheduling a Child Poverty Campaign presentation can contact ESTHER organizer Bill Van Lopik at billv [at] esther-foxvalley.org.