The Children’s Movement of Florida is a citizen-led,

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

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. The Children's Movement of Florida was launched August 9, 2010 in a four-city fly-around with press conferences in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Core advocacy issues

The Children's Movement of Florida has identified five areas for a first focus of special interest and action: * Access to quality health care * Screening and treatment for children with special needs * Quality pre-kindergarten opportunities * High-quality mentoring programs * High-quality support and information for parents

"Milk Parties"

The movement has scheduled 15 "Milk Party" rallies from September 6 to 30, starting in

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, to rally support for children as a priority. Participants will be treated to milk and cookies. "Milk Parties" will feature notable speakers, local celebrities, an educational video, and a "call to action." The Children's Movement of Florida aims for a thousand or more citizens at each event. Several

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

publications have referred to The Children's Movement of Florida as the "Milk Party."

Leadership

The Children's Movement of Florida is led by a 27-member steering committee consisting of business, civic and political leaders from across

. Some notable members of 27-member coalition are: * Carol Jenkins Barnett: President of

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

Supermarket Charities and daughter of George W. Jenkins. * Sam Bell: Former Florida legislator. *

Allan Bense Allan G. Bense (born October 6, 1951) is an American businessman and politician. He served in the Florida State house from 1998 to 2006. He serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of Bense Enterprises. Biography Early life Allan Ben ...

: Former Florida House Speaker. *

Bob Butterworth Robert A. Butterworth Jr. (born August 20, 1942) is an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Early life and career Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He re ...

: Former Florida attorney general and secretary of the Department of Children and Families. *

Betty Castor Elizabeth Castor (née Bowe; born May 11, 1941) is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner, and she subsequently served as the President of the University of Sou ...

: Former Florida legislator and president of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

. *

Scott Clemons Scott Clemons (born February 13, 1960) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He is the former mayor of Panama City, Florida, and the former state representative for the 6th district from November 6, 1990 to November 3, 1998. Whi ...

: Former legislator and now mayor of

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

. * Manny Diaz: Twice elected mayor of

. *

Pegeen Hanrahan Margaret "Pegeen" Hanrahan (born c. 1966) was the mayor of Gainesville, Florida, her native city, from 2004 through 2010. Described by ''The Nation'' as a "vegetarian, bike-riding environmentalist", Hanrahan has been active in politics since she ...

: Former mayor of Gainesville. *

Toni Jennings Antoinette Jennings (born May 17, 1949) is an American politician who was the 16th lieutenant governor of Florida. She was nominated to the office by Governor Jeb Bush in February 2003 to replace Frank Brogan, who resigned to become president o ...

: Former lieutenant governor of Florida. *

David Lawrence Jr. David Lawrence Jr. (born March 5, 1942 in New York City, New York) is an American nationally known newspaper editor and publisher who retired at the age of 56 and subsequently became a leading national advocate for children, especially in the area ...

: Former publisher of

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Jon Mills Jon Mills (born March 6, 1978) is a Canadian professional golfer. Mills was born in Oshawa, Ontario, and spent most of his childhood in Belleville, Ontario. He developed his competitive game on the St. Lawrence Junior Tour in southeastern Ontar ...

: Former Florida House Speaker. * Sandra Murman: Former Florida legislator from Hillsborough County * John P. Quinones: Former Florida legislator and now member of the Osceola Board of County Commissioners. *

Nan Rich Nan H. Rich (born February 9, 1942) is an American politician from the state of Florida and currently serves as a county commissioner in Broward County, Florida. Career She served as a Democratic member of the Florida Senate from 2004 to 2012 ...

: Florida state senator. * Burt Saunders: Former Florida legislator from

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...

. *

Bill Sublette Bill Sublette is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001.About Bill ...

: Former Florida legislator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Children's Movement of Florida Organizations based in Florida Children's rights organizations in the United States