‘Milk Party’ rally visits Naples to make early childhood development a priority

Forget the Tea Party.

The hottest party in the state of Florida is the Milk Party.

That’s the name given to rallies across the state that are part of a new initiative working to make early childhood development a top state priority.

The Children’s Movement of Florida has been holding Milk Parties across Florida to get that message out. Wednesday, the party rolls into Naples with a planned event at 6:30 p.m. at Seacrest Country Day School, 7100 Davis Blvd.

“Our focus is to get as many people as possible to come to the rally,” said Becky Newell, regional coordinator for The Children’s Movement of Florida. “We want to show the people who make decisions about the importance of making services and programs available for children. The more people that we can get out there, the more we can get our message across, the better off we are.”

The Children’s Movement of Florida is a citizen-led, non-partisan movement to educate political, business and civic leaders — and all parents of the state — about the urgent need to make the well-being and education of infants, toddlers and all other children Florida’s highest priority, according to its website.

The Children’s Movement of Florida is focused on putting children first, but has identified five issues as top priorities, Newell said. They are: Giving children better access to quality healthcare; providing better access to screening and treatment for special needs children; providing access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs; providing access to high quality mentoring programs; and offering support and help to parents.

The movement is the brainchild of former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr., who will be at the Naples rally Wednesday evening. Lawrence has said voters should demand that lawmakers put children before “high-speed trains, prisons and roads.”

The Children’s Movement Communications Director Martin Merzer said more than 6,000 people have attended the rallies across the state.

“We are trying to touch base in as many places as we can and help people rally themselves around these issues,” he said. “There has been a real hunger for this because the need is so great.”

But Merzer said the rallies are just the first step in the movement, a way to “accumulate power.”

“Other groups have accumulated the power and know how to use it. So they get their share and maybe more,” he said. “We want to make sure children and children’s programs get a bigger share of the pie. We are not talking about higher taxes or new taxes. We are talking about prioritizing resources.”

In addition to speakers, the rally will include music from the Lely High School marching band and the Golden Gate Middle School jazz band. A group of dancers from Immokalee High School will perform, as will a “family-friendly” comedian.

“It is going to be very lively, very fast-paced and very fun,” said Newell. “We have a lot going on in one hour, but we want to make it fun and informative.”

The rally is supported by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, which released a statement urging supporters to attend the rally.

Since going public on Aug. 9, the movement has drawn thousands of supporters to its “Milk Party” rallies, which are a play on the Tea Party rallies and use milk and cookies as a way to turn the focus to children.

In addition to rallies across the state, The Children’s Movement is also sponsoring a televised gubernatorial debate focused entirely on early childhood development on Oct. 16 at the University of Miami.

Democrat Alex Sink has agreed to attend, while Republican Rick Scott has not yet confirmed, Merzer said.

Connect with K-12 education policy reporter Katherine Albers at www.naplesnews.com/staff/katherine-albers/.

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