Speak Now For Kids: Join Me in this Grassroots Movement

Did you know that there are 8.8 million children (about 11 % of all children) who are not insured in the United States? It is this staggering, sad and scary statistic that gave me a kick in the butt motivated me to become involved with the Speak Now for Kids grassroots movement.

Speak Now for Kids is a grassroots movements to ensure that children's needs are included in health care reform. We must be their voice to let Congress know that children's health care is just as important as Medicare reform and other adult care issues.

Health care reform in this country is inevitable. It has been alluded to by government for decades, and the current administration is moving quickly to bring about change.

But will that change benefit our children?

The Facts:

• 8.8 million children in the U.S. do not have health insurance
• Insured children are more likely to receive preventative care, and therefore they get sick less often.
• Many adult chronic conditions have their origins in childhood.
• Even with insurance, children currently receive only 41% of preventative medical care.

What even further motivates me is imagining if my own family had not been covered during the past several years. Just my youngest child's open heart surgery alone in an unfathomable amount. Her first year of life, in terms of medical dollars has surpassed the $300,000 mark. Can you imagine? We were covered but not for the entire amount and my family struggles every day to pay medical bills that are still due. We are the lucky ones.

You can help! We all can. Visit Speak Now for Kids:

1. Learn about the campaign. Grab the Fact Sheet here.
   
2. Speak to Congress about the importance of children's health care.
3. Share the message through your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail.
4. Follow Speak Now for Kids on Twitter.

To learn more about the campaign and tweet with a representative from the National Association of Children's Hospitals, join us this Wednesday, May 6th, from 9 to 10 p.m. eastern time on Twitter for a #SpeakNowforKids SiteWarming.

RSVP here for the Twitter party and spread the word! Together we can make a difference.