Dear Jumpstart,
Happy Summer Solstice! June is a historically significant month filled with advocacy for change and celebrations for Pride, Juneteenth, and Immigrant Heritage.
As we celebrate all of these things and the longest day of the year, let us also remember the importance of continuous learning and working towards a brighter future for all. We encourage you to review our Pride Month Book Recommendations, read our Statement on Juneteenth, and learn more about how Read for the Record uplifts Immigrant Heritage Month with the 2023 selection, With Lots of Love , by Jenny Torres Sanchez.
We are also excited to showcase a special Site Spotlight for Jumpstart Mississippi’s 10 year anniversary, as well as share a NYC advocacy action, and provide the recording to our recent live Q&A session on Early Childhood Education history, activism, and the importance of amplifying educator voices for systems change.
Together, we can create a more inclusive society where every child and educator feels valued, supported, and empowered to achieve their fullest potential.
We hope you enjoy learning about the work going on at Jumpstart. We are so grateful for our Jumpstart community.
-Naila Bolus, CEO
Program and Policy Updates
PROGRAM UPDATE
This month, Jumpstart and the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) hosted a live Q&A on Early Childhood Education history, activism, and the importance of amplifying educator voices for systems change. For those not able to attend, we have great news – the recording of the Q&A is now available to watch at your convenience! Check it out today to hear from Jumpstart’s Vice President of Programs, Dr. Ashley Williams, and others!
POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS – ADVOCACY UPDATE
Attention New Yorkers! We are asking for your support of Jumpstart’s request for Congressionally Directed Spending to sustain and grow Jumpstart’s programming in New York City. Act now and urge Majority Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to endorse Jumpstart’s funding request by completing this form! Your advocacy can make a significant impact on ensuring equitable access to impactful early childhood education in NYC. Thank you for standing with us!
JUMPSTART NEWS
“Together, we can honor Juneteenth by working to dismantle and counter the lasting effects of slavery, ensuring a better future for our children and the adults that do the important work to support them.” Learn more here.
Read for the Record
As a global community, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record celebrates the beauty, uniqueness, and commonalities among our world’s diverse cultures. Despite many notable differences among cultures, one feature stands consistent across all groups: a desire to make a home with loved ones.
This year’s Read for the Record book selection, With Lots of Love, by Jenny Torres Sanchez, highlights immigrant families, the love they share, and their attempts to stay connected across long distances. Stories like these are central to the American identity. We aim to uplift these experiences through our Read for the Record book selection, because all learners deserve books that serve as windows—stories where they learn and gain understanding and empathy about the experiences of others—and mirrors—where they can see their own experiences reflected.
Celebrate stories of immigration this Immigrant Heritage Month by participating in Read for the Record and ordering your copies of With Lots of Love here!
Site Spotlight
In May, Jumpstart Corps Members, alumni, staff, and supporters of Mississippi Jumpstart convened in Jackson, MS to celebrate 10 years of Jumpstart in Mississippi!
During the 2-day event, workshops were offered that included Supporting Early Childhood Programs and What is Being Done, Life After AmeriCorps (Workforce Development), and numerous other sessions led by MS Jumpstart Site Managers including DEI and Me, Applying a Social Justice Framework to Jumpstart Sessions, Social-Emotional Challenges with Jumpstart Children and How to Better Serve Them, and Mindfulness and Leadership in Early Childhood Settings.
Jumpstart’s Chief Development and Marketing Officer and Mississippi native, Sharon Reilly, delivered an inspiring keynote address, and an alumni panel shared how Jumpstart influenced their career paths, along with networking, strategizing, community building, and of course, celebrating.
At the celebratory dinner, opening remarks were made by Kent McCarty, Mississippi State Representative, and many other special guests joined to celebrate the 10- year milestone including campus champions from sites across the state, non-profit leaders, and staff from the Mississippi Department of Education.
Special thanks to Ann Morgan Graham, MS Jumpstart Program Manager, for planning such a wonderful event, and also to the five MS Site Managers, Caitlyn Yochum (University of Mississippi), Rose Ford (Mississippi University for Women), Sara Davis (University of Southern Mississippi), Julyn Shirley (Mississippi State University, Meridian), and Destinee White (Tougaloo College), for helping make it a meaningful celebration for Corps Members and alumni. We are looking forward to seeing what the next 10 years of Jumpstart in Mississippi brings!
Work With Us
We invite you to share the below opportunities with your networks and we welcome your referrals!
Jumpstart is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and we encourage candidates to demonstrate an ongoing commitment and interest in social justice or DEI work. To learn more about Jumpstart’s current employment opportunities, visit us at Careers – Jumpstart.
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