We can’t stop thinking about a young woman we met recently who worked at Burger King for years. She was excited to finally get hired for a job at Penn in a position that paid much more and offered a promising career.

The problem is that her new salary was too much to qualify her for help paying for child care but not nearly enough to be able to afford child care on her own. She had to turn down the job.

The child care system is broken.  

Costs are rising – six out of 10 PA providers are on the brink of raising tuition rates in the new year, according to a new statewide poll. Parents are forced to turn down good jobs just so they can qualify for a child care voucher and tap the benefits of early learning programs for their children.

This is what the mom from Burger King wanted to tell her elected officials – misguided government policies were the reason she is doomed to live in poverty. Sadly, she couldn’t join a meeting with state lawmakers because her boss wouldn’t give her time off during the lunch rush.

We got her message across for her! As a result, state lawmakers put millions into great early learning programs so that families can find their way out of poverty.  

Please make a donation so we can deliver for children and their hard-working mothers and fathers in our region.

Because we pushed, politicians in Harrisburg delivered for some but most families still can’t afford quality child care for their children.

At Children First, we don’t take “no” for an answer when it comes to meeting the needs of kids. No matter what obstacle is in front of us, we push through to create a world that’s right for our children.  

Your donation today will help us continue to be a powerful advocate for Pennsylvania’s youngest children. Thank you for your support.