From the American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown
Childhood is but a grain in the sands of time—it seems in a blink babies go from our protective arms into the world. Giving them the best opportunity for a long, healthy life is the aim of Voices for Healthy Kids.
Created in 2013 by the American Heart Association with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Voices for Healthy Kids champions policies to equitably improve the communities where children live, learn and play—especially those historically impacted by health and economic disparities.
While equity has always been our focus, last fiscal year inspired a reimagining of purpose, driving the Voices team to dig deeper for better ways to help children thrive amid inequities heightened by the pandemic.
With an investment by RWJF, we created a national action plan to support grassroots advocacy and develop resources to transform communities in partnership with the people who live there.
Today, more families in food deserts have access to fresh produce, streets and sidewalks in several cities are safer for biking and walking, the Keep Kids Fed Act extends pandemic-era school meal waivers, the Healthy Kids’ Meal Bill applies to both food and drinks and several states have expanded Medicaid.
That’s only a snapshot.
I am proud to say that in 10 years, Voices for Healthy Kids has achieved 346 policy successes, touched 281 million lives and secured $5.3 billion to build healthier communities.
We are called to make even greater strides this year. Lighting our path is the Association’s 2024 Impact Goal to advance cardiovascular health for all, including identifying and removing barriers to healthcare access and quality.
I celebrate staff and volunteer advocates for making an extraordinary impact.
Thank you to our funders, supporters and collaborators for helping Voices for Healthy Kids create a path to health equity for all.
Together, we are a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.
With heart,
Nancy Brown
Chief Executive Officer
American Heart Association
From the Voices for Healthy Kids Executive Director Lori Fresina
As Voices for Healthy Kids approaches its 10-year mark, we continue to advance policy change that improves the lives of children and families, always with equity as our North Star. If I were to name a theme for the past year, it would be “trust the process.”
We transitioned from creative reimagining to concrete, practical action. What emerged were new approaches to equity-centered grantmaking, policy development, leadership development, campaign support and our own internal hiring practices.
We have learned that meaningful change can be bumpy, and that building processes that intentionally give up power and control can be downright scary!
Our Advocacy Impact Pilot supports equity-centered, community-led policy campaigns in four cities. Residents prioritized key issues for these campaigns, including some issues in areas that were new to us. Our job was to trust the process, even when that pushed us outside our comfort zone.
We continue to make our grantmaking process more anti-racist. We created the Fair Start Index, a data tool that guides our grant dollars to communities of highest need and opportunity. Holding ourselves accountable to our equity goals requires us to be more intentional about where we want to invest while being more curious about who we want to fund. We learned that our approach was good but that it needed to be better.
Amid hyper-partisanship, some advocates in conservative jurisdictions have felt caught between their commitment to equity and their desire to pass legislation, even if that means staying silent on race, racism or equity. To meet the moment, Voices for Healthy Kids regularly convened a nationwide peer group of advocates working in conservative jurisdictions to problem solve, share success stories and identify needs. Together, we developed a supportive community of peers and new messaging aimed at helping advocates and decision-makers converse about substantive issues without getting caught in partisan quicksand.
As always, we are grateful for the support of our funders, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Bainum Family Foundation, and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative. Thank you for making our work possible.
With each passing year, we are ever-more appreciative of our entire Voices for Healthy Kids network—our grantees, national collaborators, community-based organizations, researchers and more. We continue to learn with and from you. Thank you for the critical role each of you plays in creating equitable communities nationwide.
With respect and gratitude,
Lori Fresina
Executive Director
Voices for Healthy Kids