This month, Maggie Campbell, Director of Strategic Initiatives, represented Building Our Future at the StriveTogether 2026 Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., alongside colleagues from the Wisconsin Partnership.
The three-day convening brought together Cradle to Career Network members, national partners, and policy leaders from across the country to share strategies, strengthen collaboration, and advance approaches that expand opportunity for young people. Maggie joined conversations with Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to highlight the importance of community-driven solutions and coordinated efforts that support children and families.
Why it matters: Systems change requires communities to connect local work with broader conversations about policy, investment, and opportunity. By engaging at the state and federal levels, Building Our Future continues to bring community perspectives forward while learning from partners across the country.

By Aanya Panchal, Senior, LakeView Technology Academy
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On May 30, more than 100 community members came together at Petrifying Springs Park for the Stride for Minds 3K, a youth-led event focused on raising awareness and supporting student mental health.
Students in the Youth Voice Project spent months planning and organizing the event, helping coordinate everything from logistics to promotion to ensure it ran smoothly. The program also featured guest speakers, including Miss Kenosha and Kari Foss from the Kenosha County Division of Behavioral Health Services, who spoke about the importance of mental health awareness and community support.

In addition, Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman presented a proclamation recognizing the event, and students were honored with the Hearts in Action Commendation Award for their leadership and commitment to mental health advocacy.

Community members of all ages participated in the walk and run, creating a strong sense of connection and encouraging open conversations about the importance of student mental health.
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Why it matters: Youth-led events like the Stride for Minds 3K create opportunities for young people to lead, raise awareness about issues that matter to them, and bring the community together in support of student well-being.

For two days in Milwaukee, four Wisconsin organizations from the StriveTogether network came together with one shared purpose: creating a stronger future for kids across Wisconsin. 

The Wisconsin Partnership is made up of:

• Building Our Future Kenosha
• Achieve Brown County
• Higher Expectations for Racine County
• Milwaukee Succeeds

​Together, these organizations work to help more young people get on a path to economic mobility by improving cradle-to-career outcomes across Wisconsin communities. Why? 

This convening was dedicated to building a shared statewide policy agenda that reflects the needs, experiences, and hopes we hear from families, educators, nonprofits, employers, and communities every day. 

Over the course of the convening, we worked to: 

• Collaboratively develop a policy agenda for the next 2-4 years
• Begin establishing clear roles and responsibilities across the coalition
• Build consensus on 2026 legislative priorities
• Strengthen commitment to long-term coalition work
• Deepen ownership, connection, and excitement around the work ahead

​What emerged was not just policy discussion. It was alignment, shared purpose, and a reminder that meaningful systems change happens when our communities come together. 

1. Stabilizing Wisconsin's Child Care Sector 
The coalition identified the need for stabilizing the child care sector and ensure families have access to high-quality care. 

Strong child care systems support: 

• Children's development and learning
• Family stability
• Workforce participation
• Economic mobility across communities 

2. Ensuring Child Care Reimbursement Reflects the True Cost of Care
The coalition also focused on improving Wisconsin Share reimbursement rates so they better reflect the actual cost of providing quality child care. 

When reimbursement rates fail to meet realities providers face: 

• Early educators leave the profession
• Child care centers struggle to remain open
• Families lose access to care
• The entire sector becomes unstable 

3. Defining and Measuring Kindergarten Readiness 
The final focus area centered around establishing cohesive kindergarten readiness benchmarks and metrics across Wisconsin. 

The goal is to better understand: 

• Whether children are entering kindergarten prepared with foundational development skills
• Where intervention and support may be needed earlier 
• Whether current early childhood and K-12 policies are effectively supporting young learners

This work would help create stronger connections between early intervention systems, schools, and family supports statewide. 

As a Wisconsin Partnership, we are now preparing to develop shared 90-day action steps that help move these priorities from conversation into action. We are excited. We are eager. We are ready for the work. 

We are driven by a shared desire to ensure that every child, cradle to career, has the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve their dreams. 

None of this work would be possible without the collaboration, leadership, and commitment of StriveTogether and all four of our organizations coming together to move Wisconsin forward. 

These two days were filled with thoughtful conversations, hard questions, strategic thinking, and passionate people who deeply care about creating a better future for kids. 
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And this is only the beginning.