The energy in the room at our 24th Annual Luncheon was unmistakable.
More than 500 supporters, advocates, business leaders, policymakers and champions for children came together at the Hyatt Regency Chicago to celebrate the power of high-quality early learning and care. Together, we raised a record-breaking $3.3 million to support Start Early’s mission to ensure more children have the strong beginnings they deserve.
This year’s theme, The Power of Starting Early: One Child. One Family. One Community at a Time., reflected how high-quality early learning and care is essential to children’s healthy beginnings, thriving families and strong communities. Creating strong beginnings for children requires more than helping individual families. It requires building systems that support families at scale.
Our community came together for the baby and for systemic change. As a public private partnership, Start Early uses public dollars to deliver best in class services and private dollars to innovate, to share our expertise and advocate for systems that work better for children and families. That combination gives Start Early, unusual reach.
Systems change does not happen overnight. Over 45 years, we have built relationships, expertise and credibility to bring practical, actionable ideas to policymakers and public systems.
Lasting change requires more than expertise alone. Strong policy ideas are not enough. We also need the kind of public will that comes when people understand what is at stake, believe change is possible and know how to take action.
That idea of building public will was at the heart of this year’s luncheon. In a thoughtful conversation with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, we discussed the importance of public engagement, collective action and the role each of us can play in building support for children and families.
This year’s luncheon also marked an important milestone for Diana Rauner as it was her final Annual Luncheon as president of Start Early. Our organization has immense gratitude for the community that has stood beside us throughout the years—supporters, partners, staff, families and advocates who have helped advance opportunities for children from before birth through their earliest years.
During the luncheon, we welcomed Celena Sarillo as Start Early’s next president. Celena is a passionate leader, tireless advocate and longtime champion for children and families. With Celena at the helm, Start Early’s next chapter will be one of continued innovation and impact.
While there is much to celebrate, our work is far from finished.
Across the country, families continue to face barriers to accessing quality early learning and care, home visiting, health and developmental services and other critical supports. The need remains urgent and so does the opportunity.
Together, we can help power a movement to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
If you feel inspired by our work and wish to join the momentum, we invite you to:
- Make a donation to support programs and services that help children and families thrive.
- Sign up for advocacy alerts and lend your voice to policies that support young children and caregivers.
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to our Luncheon Co-Chairs, Helen Zell and Bruce Rauner, leaders in Chicago’s business and philanthropic community who share in our belief that investments in high-quality early learning and care can strengthen families and build brighter futures.
We are deeply grateful to our Board Chair Mary Hasten, featured guest Shannon Watts, our generous sponsors and every supporter who helped make our work possible.
Together, we are building a future where every child can thrive, every family has the supports they need and every community recognizes the value of investing in their youngest learners.
Thank you for being part of this movement.
