What a day, advocates! You rallied, you met with legislators, you packed committee hearings, you tweeted. Your legislators heard you when you asked them to make kids their priority.

As rally speaker Tessa Bowling said in her opening speech, “We are leaders, and we have a voice. We are here today to ignite change.” We are still tallying, but it looks like yesterday’s Children’s Advocacy Day was the biggest yet. Thank you to the hundreds of advocates who showed up for kids, including the more than 200 young leaders—the most powerful advocates of the day. See what advocates were saying on Twitter here.

During the rally and in legislative meetings throughout the day, the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children presented Champion for Children awards to Senate President Robert Stivers, Senator Danny Carroll, Senator Whitney Westerfield, Representative Addia Wuchner, Representative Joni Jenkins, and Representative Darryl Owens for taking action on behalf of kids.

Thank you to the many elected officials who hosted groups of youth, to Governor Matt Bevin who stopped by the legislative breakfast, and to the First Lady’s office for hosting the First Lady’s Youth Leadership Council in the Governor’s mansion. View the Governor’s video of the day here.

Children’s Advocacy Day may be over for the year, but we still have a number of days left in the legislative session. Follow up with the legislators you met with at Children’s Advocacy Day, and continue to advocate for the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children legislative priorities. Want to receive action alerts in your inbox? Sign up for our email updates here. Be sure to follow the bill tracker to stay up-to-date on Blueprint legislative priorities and other bills that are good for kids. (The latest movement on a Blueprint priority was on Children’s Advocacy Day, as HB 180—recognizing close family friends as kinship caregivers—passed the House Health and Family Services committee.)

We look forward to seeing you at the 14th Annual Children’s Advocacy Day but know that you will take many actions to advocate for kids before then!