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People of faith are called by that faith
to speak for all children.
July 15, 2008
ICM Annual Meeting Tuesday, August 19
Kick-off for New Program Year and Board Election
When:    Tuesday, August 19, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where:   Druid Hills United Methodist Church
             1200 Ponce de Leon Ave. 
             Corner of Ponce and Briarcliff/Moreland. 
             (Light refreshments served at ICM meetings.)
 
  • Important Updates:
    •  2008 Advocacy and Program Achievements;
    • ICM's support of JUSTGeorgia and juvenile justice reform through the ICM Juvenile Justice Campaign;
    • Faith in Action community organizing;
    • ICM's statewide "Growing the Movement" initiative;
  • Find out more about the growing movement to abolish trafficking of children for prostitution in Georgia; and
  • ICM's Board of Directors election.
     Your presence is needed!  Please come and invite others to this meeting.  Let them know they are both welcomed and important to the growth of the Interfaith Children's Movement.
__________________________
AUGUST IS MEMBERSHIP MONTH
Member Challenge:  Every Membership Contribution Will Be Matched!
     During August, and through the rest of the year, when you renew your ICM membership, or become a member for the first time, your contribution will be matched dollar for dollar.  Your $25 or  $50 contribution will become $50 or $100 in income to the Interfaith Children's Movement.  
    
     A generous donor has issued a challenge to ICM members.  Give generously, and all the money that is raised, up to $25,000, will go toward supporting some additional staff time adequate to coordinate the activities of ICM's hundreds of volunteers and legions of supporters.
    
     The donor's challenge letter stated: ". . . we, who are members and sustainers of this Interfaith Children's Movement, are standing on the mountaintop looking toward the Promised Land, that place. . . where we are leading a multitude of people of faith, whose moral voice for children is so mighty that policy-makers seek our wise counsel before they enact legislation. . . It's out there.  It's within reach."
    
     "But it's not assured.  Because. . . we are still lacking the staff to focus and direct the voices of people of faith in Georgia. Volunteers are the heart of a movement, and we have volunteers aplenty. But it takes staff to harness the enthusiasm of those volunteers who will lead us to change for children."
    
     This is a vision of the future we can all support.  Make your contribution during Membership Month. Invite members of your own faith community to join ICM and have their contributions matched.
    Follow this link to contribute online at ICM Website.  Or mail a check to P.O. Box 54149, Atlanta 30308.
Bluegrass Fundraiser Coming August 23
 
Bring your family and friends
for a toe-tapping good time!
bluegrass festival photo     This year's Cliff Valley Bluegrass Festival will be held Saturday, August 23, as a benefit for the Interfaith Children's Movement.
 
     This family-friendly event will feature award-winning, thirteen-year-old fiddler, Alex Thomlinson and Atlanta's  most entertaining bluegrass band, Cedar Hill.

     Doors open at 3:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta.  Along with the concerts, there'll be jamming (musicians hanging out around the building playing bluegrass standards), food and refreshments.  
 
     Complete Bluegrass Festival information and directions can be found at http://cliffvalleymusicconspiracy.org.
ICM Grows the Movement for Juvenile Justice Reform with JUSTGeorgia
     ICM hosted its first Juvenile Justice Campaign forum with faith and community leaders in Macon, Georgia, Tuesday, July 1 at High Street Unitarian Universalist Congregation Church. ICM was joined by JUSTGeorgia's Leslie Gresham of Georgia Appleseed who talked to the group about JUSTGeorgia's efforts to draft legislation for a new juvenile code that will reflect stakeholder input, compromise and political reality.  ICM presented to the group a list of actions that individuals and faith communities can take to promote and support JUSTGeorgia's mission.
 
     Among the Macon attendees were:  Judge Thomas Matthews of Bibb County's juvenile court, Rabbi Larry Schlesinger of Temple Beth Israel, Assistant District Attorney Pamela Wright Colbert, Rev. John Mark Parker of St. Francis Episcopal, Tony Lowden of Campus Clubs Macon, Lisa Lynn Hefner of Prevent Child Abuse Heart of Georgia and host Jane Donahue of High Street. 
 
     "This is the first of many discussions ICM will hold across Georgia about juvenile justice reform and how we, by purposefully working together, can effect positive change for all of Georgia's children," commented Pamela Perkins of ICM.
Join the Breakfast Planning Committee
 
     Planning is underway for the annual Call to Action Prayer Breakfast. Prayer Breakfast Committee Chair, DuWanna Thomas, needs enthusiastic ICM members to serve with her. 
 
     The Breakfast will be from 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 29, and the location will again be at The Temple at 1589 Peachtree Street, NE.  Plan to reserve seats for yourself, your friends and your faith community.
 
     If you've been wondering how to participate in this movement, the Breakfast is a great way to start. You'll meet great people from many faiths who share your concern for the welfare of Georgia's children.  Contact Pamela Perkins, ICM Coordinator, at [email protected] or the ICM phone line at 770-498-2141.

How You Can Support the Juvenile Justice Campaign
 
  • Collect stories in your faith community from families who have had experiences with the current Juvenile Justice system.
  • Get signatures on the Petition for Fair and Equal Justice for all Georgia's Children.  Goal is 10,000 by the opening day of the 2009 legislative session.
  • Contact your state legislators and let them know you support Juvenile Justice reform.
  • Join the JUSTGeorgia Coalition and its e-mail list.  Their website, www.justgeorgia.org, contains the justification for a new juvenile code and a link to the Georgia State Bar's Young Lawyer's Division draft of a model code.
  • Join the Interfaith Children's Movement's Juvenile Justice Campaign in support of JUSTGeorgia.  More information at www.interfaithchildrensmovement.org

     ICM has become a very active partner in the JUSTGeorgia Coalition, a collaborative of child advocacy organizations working to overhaul Georgia's antiquated Juvenile Code.   ICM has received funding from the Sapelo Foundation to spread the advocacy voice for a revised juvenile code throughout Georgia. 


     "We hope every ICM member will become an advocate for passage of the legislation for a revised Code in the 2009 Georgia legislative session," said Pamela Perkins, ICM's  Coordinator.  
 

     The current code, enacted in 1971, is largely out of date; is a "patchwork quilt of amendments;" and is no longer able to guarantee fair or consistent treatment for children who enter the system.  The Juvenile Code applies to children who need protection from abusive or neglectful families, who are consistently truant or otherwise "unruly" or who have broken a law. 

In This Issue
Annual Meeting August 19
Every Membership Contribution Will Be Matched
Bluegrass Fundraiser August 23 is Family-Friendly
Growing the Movement Statewide
Prayer Breakfast Volunteers Wanted!
How You Can Support the Juvenile Justice Campaign
Message from Board Chair Luther Smith
Worthwhile Upcoming Events
For Such A Time
as This! 
Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr.
Board Chair
 
     As you know, success often depends upon timing--the connection of commit-ment and ability with oppor-tunity.  We can do the right things, and still success eludes us because we work in an environment that lacks crucial factors.  Or, we fail because we do not perceive that opportunities abound and that now is the time to act.
     Today, I come to you with good news!  ICM is ready, willing, and more able than ever to advocate effectively on behalf of children.  In the last months, we have received generous funding from individuals and foundations.  Some staff  have been hired.  Organizing in communities has taken root.  Our Networking Team has formed to more systematically grow the Movement.  Substantial attendance at ICM events indicates momentum for mobilizing child advocates.  We are becoming a statewide Movement.  And our collaboration with child-oriented organizations is strong.
     For such a time as this, we have been working for the last seven years. For such a time as this, we celebrate, plan, and pray for guidance.  For such a time as this, you are needed to help this Movement fulfill its mission to care for all children.  
     What can you do?  Continue to support the Movement with your time, financial contributions and prayers.  Plan to attend the upcoming General Meeting and Annual Prayer Breakfast. Call ICM at 770-498-2141 to volunteer to help build the Movement.  Encourage others to become involved.
     You can make a differ-ence in this Movement's ability to work on behalf of children's healthcare, preventing child abuse, reducing violence among children, establishing a more humane juvenile justice system and educating faith communities on nurturing and advocating for children.  You can be the difference, for such a time as this.

Mark Your Calendar
for these worthwhile events
by ICM and Partners
July 22, noon - 2:00 pm ICM/GALEO follow-up meeting with Hispanic/Latino faith communities at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church
 
August 6, 1:00-3:00 pm
Learn how to talk with your legislator
about children's issues.  Confidence-building training sponsored by the Women's Policy Group is scheduled for Wednesday, August 6.  The session teaches us how to build on the positive experiences we had with legislators at the 2008 session and for the vital issues coming in 2009.  Location:  Keller Williams Real Estate Office at 3925 Peachtree Road, between Oglethorpe U. and I-285. Trainer is Janice Barrocas.  Contact Panke Miller for more information.  [email protected], 404-636-7172.
 
August 19, 6:30-8:30 pm
ICM Annual Meeting
and kickoff for new program year
 
August 20, 9:30-11:30 am
The Zero to Five Coalition
, a dynamic group of early childhood advocates.  Keynote Speaker is Harriet Meyer, a national thought leader in early care and learning, and a passionate advocate from Chicago.  Sponsored by Voices for Georgia's Children. Location: Second floor of the United Way Building, located at 100 Edgewood Ave, NE, Atlanta, Georgia.  
  
August 23, 3:00-10:00 pm
Cliff Valley Bluegrass Festival
to benefit ICM
 
October 29, 7:00-9:00 a.m.
ICM Call to Action Prayer Breakfast
 
November 4, Election Day
 
November 7, Big Voice for Children Award sponsored by Voices for Georgia's Children

Nov. 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
ICM General Membership Meeting

 

 

ICM Mission and Goals

 
     The Interfaith Children's Movement was formed in 2001 as an intentional association of individuals and communities of faith from all religious traditions.
  
     The Interfaith Children's Movement strives to be a voice for all Georgia children, but especially the poor and marginalized whose voices are often unheard. 
 
     ICM works closely with Georgia's policy-oriented child advocacy organizatons, such as: 
  • Voices for Georgia's Children,
  • The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University, Georgia Appleseed,
  • JUSTGeorgia, Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and
  • A Future Not a Past (child prostitution prevention). 

     These organizations set the agenda for our advocacy work for children. 

     ICM's faith community members provide a megaphone to the legislature about what needs to be done for children.

 2008 Advocacy Priorities

 > Juvenile Justice Code
   Revision
> Child Prostitution
> Tax Reform
> Expansion/pre-K
  Program
> Healthcare/Peachcare  
Doing what we are called to do.
 Doing what we are able to do. 
 Doing what must be done!