Will you choose care this season?

Hi, it's Sam,

When we gather around the table with friends and family this time of year, the conversations can get ... interesting.

We invite you to steer the conversation to something we can all agree on: that our little ones deserve love and support every day of the year.

You can choose care this season by simply sharing our hope and optimism about the child care opportunity with your loved ones. (Bonus points if they dig the conversation and you forward them this newsletter!)

🧸ྀི State of play: Rallying community support! 🙌

• Our local nonprofits and philanthropy groups are stepping up in significant ways for families, even as the social safety net faces unprecedented challenges.
  
• As we focus efforts on food insecurity, housing assistance and more, we need ot make sure child care remains a critical part of that conversation.

1. Child care on the ballot?

🔗 Big news for little ones: Local labor and advocacy groups are pushing a measure for the November ballot to shore up long-term funding for things like child care, public safety, health care and solutions to the Tijuana sewage crisis.

• That coalition includes Children First San Diego, which is joined by Service Employees International Union Local 221, Cal Fire Local 2881 County Firefighters and San Diego Foundation.  

• “San Diegans are facing a wave of threats that Washington, D.C. is either ignoring or making worse — from toxic cross-border sewage that’s sickening entire communities to unmet public safety needs to hundreds of thousands of residents at risk of losing their health care,” the coalition wrote. “We must act to protect our community and that’s why our coalition is advancing a measure for the 2026 ballot to give San Diego County a chance to choose a safer, healthier, more secure future — and we invite the community to join us in this fight.” 

2. Sounding the alarm on affordability

📣 Using our big kid voice: Kim McDougal, Chief Impact Officer at the YMCA of San Diego County and a tireless Children First Collective advocate, joined local leaders to draw attention to the region's affordability crisis.

• Congressman Scott Peters huddled with the nonprofit leaders to discuss how to tackle the challenge this holiday season.

• A press release from the Congressman's office noted that turkey prices are up 40 percent from last year, beef prices, 15 percent, and with SNAP and Medi-Cal cuts in the "Big Beautiful Bill," families are struggling to get by.

• Kim pointed out to the group that child care is a critical part of this conversation: "Access to affordable, high-quality childcare has never been more vital. It’s the foundation of early learning and family well-being, and it fuels economic stability in entire communities. That stability is now at risk, as mixed-status families face reduced resources, the early childhood workforce is stretched thin, and changes to the childcare tax benefit add new uncertainty for families.”

3. Philanthropy is stepping up by stepping in

🔗 Sharing time: Unprecedented times call for unprecedented partnerships.

• It's been amazing to watch San Diego Foundation, Prebys Foundation, and Price Philanthropies come together to commit $70 million to supporting San Diego families.

• That kind of partnership will be critical as we work together to stand up for San Diego's kids.

• And, there's more ... San Diego Foundation just partnered with the County of San Diego to fund $13 million of social service contracts.

• “It’s very clear we cannot sit back and hope Washington comes to our rescue,” County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson Remer.

4. Expanding the child care opportunity

📚 Sarah Song wants to help grow access to child care

She runs a family center in National City and gave us a behind the scenes view of what her day-to-day looks like.

Song also talked with CFC about the challenges of expanding her impact on the community.

Finding a building with the right parking requirements, fire safety equipment and other compliance standards is only one of the hurdles.

Her experience was confirmed by another provider who just went through the rigamarol and spoke to us for this video about the San Diego County Child Care Blueprint.

5. Join us at December Nights!

🌲 Fa la la la la: CFC will be popping up at the annual December Nights holiday event in Balboa Park

• Come hang with your favorite child care advocates! We'll be stationed in the family zone inside the Municipal Gymnasium.
  
• We'll have activities for the kids and ways for you to engage with the child care opportunity in San Diego. Plus, it's a great break from the crowds.

6. Wicked funny

🍎 This past weekend, I took my girls to see Wicked for Good.

When we went to see the first movie a year ago, my youngest daughter, Greer, was dressed as Dorothy.

This time, she was wearing an avocado pajama top and lemon pajama bottoms.

"Don't you want to wear your Dorothys?" we asked. "Everyone will say, 'Look, it's Dorothy!"

Greer didn't miss a beat. "No, they will say 'look, it's Mediterranean salad!'"

For more information, visit sdchildrenfirst.org or contact us at: info@childrenfirstsd.org.