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.
“Rainbow Connection”
song by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher; check out our full curated playlist here – handpicked jams to keep the joy flowing!
As 2025 draws to a close, we are celebrating the launch of Kaleidoscope WI, a new coalition dedicated to ensuring birthing people, young children, and families of color have the resources and opportunities to thrive.
Kaleidoscope is a prenatal-to-3 (PN-3) coalition led by and for global majority communities. It brings together trusted organizations, community leaders, and families to boldly speak truth to power and to advance policies that improve health, education, and economic mobility for Wisconsin’s youngest children.
The coalition is guided by values of authenticity, trust, and shared power—and those principles are embodied by the founding partners who bring deep expertise and commitment to Wisconsin’s families:
- Black Child Development Institute–Wisconsin (BCDI-WI) improves and advances the quality of life for Black children and their families through education, advocacy, and policy change.
- Hoocąk Ee Coonį Wažiperes Hocira, an initiative of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is dedicated to saving the sacred Hoocąk language by teaching infants and preschool children to comprehend and speak their ancestral tongue.
- Roots4Change Cooperative (R4C), the first women-owned cooperative founded by immigrant Latina/Indigenous community-based doulas in Wisconsin, supports immigrant families through childbirth and parenting while uplifting reproductive justice and cultural belonging traditions.
- The Hmong Institute serves as a community builder and advocate for Hmong and other underserved communities through culturally competent services, advocacy, and education.
- Kids Forward, a statewide antiracist policy center, works to inspire action and advance policies that ensure every child in Wisconsin can thrive.
Why Kaleidoscope?
The name reflects both the diversity and the transformative power of this coalition. Just as a kaleidoscope creates beauty by bringing many unique pieces into focus, this coalition is built on the idea that diverse communities, when brought together, create solutions that are bold, authentic, and lasting.
“Our coalition is rooted in trust, shared power, and accountability,” said members of the Core Steering Committee. “We know solutions come from the lived experience, creativity, and leadership of our communities.”
In 2025, Kaleidoscope WI has been deeply engaged in laying the foundation for this coalition’s success. This has included shaping the vision and governance structure, holding community conversations across Wisconsin to ensure the coalition reflects the voices and priorities of families, recruiting a diverse and committed initial membership, and securing early funding support. These efforts have positioned Kaleidoscope to move into its next phase with strong relationships, resources, and a clear, community-driven roadmap.
In its first two years, Kaleidoscope WI is focused on:
- Mobilizing PN-3 global majority families through authentic relationship building
- Engaging members and communities in a landscape analysis to identify key policy areas
- Co-creating a responsive policy agenda that addresses the barriers and opportunities identified by global majority communities
Kaleidoscope is more than a coalition, it is a vision for a Wisconsin where families of color and immigrant communities are not just included in policy conversations, but are leading them.
We invite policymakers, advocates, community leaders, and families to join us in shaping a Wisconsin where every child has the best possible start in life. Contact [email protected] to learn more.
