December 2020
Dear Friends,
It’s almost surreal that one year ago, my year-end letter reflected on the places I visited—a multitude of countries in Europe, New Zealand, Lebanon, and various states across the U.S.—and the many people (notably the youth leaders!) I met with and had the opportunity to learn from. Who could have predicted that in a few short months, a global pandemic would completely disrupt our lives, and in doing so, expose the longstanding inequities in education and healthcare; deepen the fight against systemic racial injustices; and underscore the effects of climate change? Not me!

While all of us are looking ahead to the promise of a new and better year, I could not let 2020 end without sending my best for a peaceful holiday season, and acknowledging your support and partnership as we seek to build a society that more deeply values—and acts on behalf of—children and young people. Our path forward is steep, and there is much to be done. Let’s move forward with hopeful anticipation, building upon the successes of recent youth-focused ballot measures and in the rise of leadership and youth voice across a breadth of areas from climate change to social justice.

As I have written previously, the health and well-being of children is not a partisan issue. In the coming year, we must put pressure on all our leaders to talk about, and with, young people, and hold our elected officials accountable for centering kids when making policy and programming decisions. Let’s commit to giving young people a platform to express their opinions and ideas, and listen to what they say.

I am grateful, as ever, for your support of Leading for Kids, and look forward to sharing more about our work in the coming year. In the meantime, feel free to be in touch by email at David.Alexander@leadingforkids.org or connect on Twitter @LeadingforKids.

Be well, and happy holidays,
David
David Alexander, M.D.
President, Leading for Kids
(650) 714-6609
Leading for Kids is committed to improving the health and well-being of children by creating a movement to change how we talk about kids, how we can invest wisely and productively in their futures, and how our decision makers can better protect their rights and reflect their voices.