Your generous donation will go toward elevating the visibility of the Vote for Ohio Kids campaign and increasing the impact our powerful agenda can have on Ohio's most at-risk kids.  Vote for Ohio Kids is a statewide effort dedicated to ensuring Ohio’s next Governor will make investments in children’s early education and health a top priority. This initiative is led jointly by Groundwork Ohio and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association in partnership with business, healthcare, and early education leaders as well as child advocates from around the state.

Only 40% of Ohio’s kids come to kindergarten ready for success, so it’s no surprise that only 43% of Ohio’s workforce has a degree or a credential for AVAILABLE jobs. And yet, 65% of jobs in 2020 will require MORE THAN a high school diploma. Access to healthcare coverage from birth through childhood directly impacts educational outcomes and leads to improvements in overall health during adulthood—including lower rates of high blood pressure, diabetes after age 18, heart disease or heart attack, and obesity.

Vote for Ohio Kids is driving a powerful agenda that puts Ohio kids front and center. Ohio’s next governor must invest in proven, high-quality early childhood experiences for all Ohio kids to ensure school and career success and support access to the essential healthcare services for all Ohio kids that are vital to successful development.  Ohio's next governor must take steps to increase the accessibility to and quality of Ohio’s child care, preschool, and voluntary evidence-based home visiting, in order to improve school outcomes and improve access to quality healthcare coverage from birth through early childhood in order to improve educational outcomes and overall health during adulthood. Both of these critically important children’s priorities are crucial to increasing the life-long success of Ohio’s children and laying a strong foundation for economic prosperity in our state.

On September 27, 2018, we will be hosting the Vote for Ohio Kids Leadership Forum at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The Forum event will bring together a coalition of business, healthcare, and education leaders as well as child advocates from across the state to dialogue with the gubernatorial nominees and seek a commitment to our kid-focused agenda.  To learn more or register, click here.

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