![boy playing baseball](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/baseball%20boy%20cropped_0.png?itok=QghZsrv6)
Can you believe it's already June? Kids are getting out of school, temperatures are heating up, and hopefully you'll have some time to relax and recharge a bit! To make taking action as easy as possible, we're once again packaging our most urgent campaigns of the past week into one easy #5Actions list, below. Please take a moment to scroll down and make sure you've added your voice to timely actions around immigration, SNAP, equal pay and more! Then head on out and enjoy some time with family and friends this weekend. Thank you for all you do!
1. Join Us to Say: It's Past Time For Equal Pay!
BACKGROUND: Sunday is the 55th anniversary of President Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act into law, but we still don't have equal pay! The good news is that solutions are possible. Studies show that policies like paid family and medical leave, affordable childcare, earned sick days, and a living wage all help lower the wage gap. Pay transparency and non-discrimination policies help close the wage gap too! ---> Urge your elected officials to take action to close the women and mothers' wage gap and boost the national economy!
2. Janine, Scott and Dian Made a Difference for Gun Safety, and You Can Too!
BACKGROUND: These MomsRising members brought gun violence awareness to an elected official in their community in the form of a blank #NoNRAMoney pledge form, and then they got her to sign it. This is a personal WIN for them, because every signed pledge is a real and solid step in the right direction. Elected leaders, from school boards up to Congress, need to take the #NoNRAMoney pledge to show they prioritize the interests of children and families over the special interest gun lobby. Once they take the pledge, their names are added to the public list at NoNRAMoney.org, which constituents can check and know exactly where their representatives stand when it comes gun safety. Get a personal WIN on #gunsafety by getting one of your community's elected leaders to sign the #NoNRAMoney pledge! #WearOrange #GunSafety #Enough
3. Children's Lives Are on the Line: Stop Family Separation
BACKGROUND: Our nation's treatment of immigrant children, women, and families is devastatingly wrong. We cannot let the practice that Trump has put into place of purposefully separating children from their moms and families at the border to continue. We cannot allow human rights violations in the name of immigration enforcement to go on. *Sign on to urge President Trump, U.S. Attorney General Sessions, and D.H.S. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to stop the cruel and inhumane practice of intentionally separating children from their parents!
4. Tell Congress: Protect SNAP in the Farm Bill!
BACKGROUND: Republicans in the U.S. Congress have introduced a Farm Bill that would increase hunger and hardship by taking away—or cutting—food assistance from many struggling families, including children. Their proposal includes sweeping changes to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or food stamps). The unworkable, harmful, unnecessary, and woefully-underfunded proposal takes SNAP benefits away from people 18-59 years old who aren’t currently employed or participating in training for 20 hours a week. We beat back this bill once when it failed on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. But Speaker Paul Ryan has scheduled a vote on the same bill again in a few weeks and the U.S. Senate will release their version of the Farm Bill any day. We need to keep the pressure on and speak out! **SIGN our letter now telling Congress “Hands off SNAP!” and we’ll deliver it to members of Congress!
5. Help Us Make Healthy Food for Little Learners a Home Run!
BACKGROUND: In the contest for our kids' health, we're winning. Thanks to you, in recent years: schools now offer healthier meals and snacks; many restaurants offer kids healthier drink options; and chain restaurants now display information about calories and nutrition. Win-win-win for parents and families! Next up: healthier foods for our littlest learners! This year updates to meals and snacks offered in child and adult care centers will go into effect. Most exciting: these updates will support breastfeeding, fruits and vegetables, and limit added sugars. Help us hit this one out of the park! We're mobilizing parents to champion the new updates, and support providers making them a big success. Our voices and encouragement go a *long* way in helping the new guidelines succeed. Add a message of support for healthy food for young kids, and we'll get it to providers this summer! And if you're a provider, let us know what resources you need to make the updates a big success. Together, we are a force for healthy kids. Thank you!
Thank you for all you do, and #KeepMarching!
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
MomsRising.org strongly encourages our readers to post comments in response to blog posts. We value diversity of opinions and perspectives. Our goals for this space are to be educational, thought-provoking, and respectful. So we actively moderate comments and we reserve the right to edit or remove comments that undermine these goals. Thanks!