Good Trouble in the Key of Joy
Enjoy our end-of-year recap of 2025! View the full book here. If you believe in this work, we hope you’ll consider donating. Your gift will power a movement to collectively demand better for Wisconsin.
“O-o-h Child”
song by Stan Vincent; check out our full curated playlist here – handpicked jams to keep the joy flowing!
Papas, daddies, stepfathers, grandpas, pops, uncles all showed up in force at the Wisconsin State Capitol, just a few days before Father’s Day.
Why?
To voice their support for state investment in our child care system. The child care industry overall is on the verge of collapse if we don’t invest in it, and businesses can’t thrive if workers can’t find reliable care. Throughout the first half of the year, we advocated for an equitable state budget that centered children and families furthest from opportunity.
How?
Through our first ever “Dads Care for Child Care,” which was a resounding success! The Capitol Hearing Room was packed with
concerned dads, grandpas, kids, and other supporters wearing “Dads Care for Child Care” t-shirts (printed by Los Volcanes, a
local cooperative that offers screen printing, embroidery, and sewing).
More than 60 dads and their allies came to listen and ask questions to three invited speakers discussing the outrageously high cost
of child care.
Peng Her (CEO of the Hmong Institute), Representative Alex Joers (Assembly District 81), and Chef Evan Dannells (local restaurant
owner) made up our stellar panel.
“Early investment in children pays off in every sector of our society.”
Peng Her, CEO, Hmong Institute
We couldn’t have done this without our incredible partners that included The Black Child Development Institute, The Hmong Institute, Main Street Alliance, Milwaukee Succeeds, Motherhood for Good, One City Schools, Thriving Wisconsin, WI Alliance for Infant Mental
Health, and the Wisconsin Public Education Network.
Dads and their allies called on Wisconsin’s state legislators and Congressional representatives to prioritize investments in quality early childhood education. Specifically, we asked our leaders to:
- Approve $480M funding in the 2025-27 state budget for significant and sustained investment in child care.
- Protect Head Start from federal attacks. A huge thank you to all who made this event a success.
A huge thank you to all who made this event a success.
