500,000 children in Florida are without health insurance: Volunteer to help change this.

Posted on 01/23/2012 @ 09:56 AM

KidCare Outreach/Enrollment Initiative – Get involved and we will work to make progress together.

There was a lot of news coverage on KidCare last week (See links to articles below). One statement in the Orlando Sentinel stood out: “Despite the criticisms, though, all sides acknowledge that Florida has made some progress recently in enrolling more children — just not enough progress”.

It is my firm belief that real progress happens at a community level. I’m not discounting the importance of sound policy making and adequate funding, but it also takes a community’s citizens to rally behind an issue to strike a chord that can resonate up the ladder. For that reason, The Children’s Movement of Florida is collaborating with Florida Covering Kids and Families, local and regional KidCare Coalitions and many others to engage and activate ordinary citizens and The Chidren's Movement supporters to assist in the ongoing work toward “enough progress”.

Right now, we are recruiting volunteers to assist with KidCare (Florida's high-quality, low-cost health insurance for children) outreach and application assistance efforts in their own communities.

Whether it is at a local event, at school or simply assisting in follow-up with an applicant, volunteers will have a chance to assist those organizations that work tirelessly toward reducing the number of uninsured children in our state.

We are going to provide opportunities that will enable a volunteer to walk away knowing that in the few hours they committed to a meaningful effort, he/she was able to assist a child -- or several -- in gaining health coverage. Or, helped push a parent down the path toward relieving a major concern about their child’s well being. More importantly, a volunteer will become a catalyst for positive progress and can continue to spread the knowledge about KidCare at work, school, church and elsewhere in their community.

Please contact me today or sign-up to learn more about how we can work together toward making real progress.

News coverage:

Florida lets federal health care dollars for children slip away

State losing out on federal funds for children’s health care

Kids hurt when state loses KidCare money