TIME
FOR A CHILDREN'S MOVEMENT
Wingspread Journal, Winter 1997
#1 QUESTION PUTS KIDS FIRST
IN KANSAS CITY
It is plastered across billboards, newspaper pages,
and bus kiosks. It's talked about on television, at
school, from the pulpit, at work, and even among politicians.
It is the number one question on the minds of women
and men in Kansas City: "Is it good for the children?"
Directed by the Partnership for Children and sponsored
by the United Way of Kansas City and The Greater Kansas
City Community Foundation, the #1 Question Campaign
will run for the next three years, challenging every
adult in Kansas City to become more engaged in the
lives of children by asking--at every opportunity
and as a part of every decision--"Is it good for the
children?"
David Westbrook, president of Corporate Communications
Group, Inc., who created the campaign, and Janice
C. Kreamer, president of The Greater Kansas City Community
Foundation, described the campaign to Leadership 18
members at a recent Wingspread gathering.
The #1 Question is a response to the public perception
that life is harder for children today than it was
even a generation ago. "The children adults consider
'at risk' today are not the children who live in some
other neighborhood far away," says Westbrook. "A careful
analysis of opinion research shows our community's
residents believe the term 'at risk' is no longer
defined by race, by wealth, by geography, or by any
form of social status." According to the beliefs of
residents and the statistics that reveal the status
of the well-being of children, an "at risk" child
is an equal opportunity.
"Residents are even more concerned about the need
to create opportunities for healthy children to stay
healthy," Westbrook adds. "We want independent children
to be made self-sufficient and resourceful children
to be given every opportunity to achieve their fullest
potential."
While the #1 Question Campaign will use media and
marketing techniques to get the message into every
home, supporters understand that "a community is not
a commodity. A community cannot be bought. A community
must be built."
Building community begins by focusing on the values
people cherish and then fostering opportunities to
put those values into action, by leaders as well as
by ordinary citizens. In schools, for example, teachers
and principals will use the #1 Question at Back-to-School
nights with parents to help effect positive changes
in the classroom. Temples and churches will be the
sites for a special weekend of worship on behalf of
the well-being of children. Businesses and corporations
will be asked to adopt family/child-friendly corporate
policies, and public officials will be asked to use
the #1 Question to guide their deliberations. Parents
will be given information packets on how to use the
#1 Question and a special, community-wide event in
the spring will bring together more than 10,000 citizens
to celebrate the city's children.
It is an aggressive agenda designed to meet four
very aggressive goals:
-
Increase the involvement of adults in the lives
of their own children.
-
Increase the involvement of adults in the lives
of children and youth.
-
Engage individuals who will influence policies that
affect children and youth.
-
Provide opportunities for people with limited time
or resources to support children and youth.
Can these goals be met? Kansas City believes they
can.
"Greater Kansas City residents still hold high hopes
for the future," says Westbrook. "More importantly,
large numbers of our residents believe an individual
can have a dramatic influence on the well-being of
children. More than 70 percent of our residents stand
ready to exercise their own individual responsibility
and influence on behalf of children."
Is it good for the children? In Kansas City, that's
the question that counts.
For more information about the #1 Question Campaign,
contact David Westbrook at Corporate Communications
Group, Inc., tel.: 800-726-2990 or Jim Caccamo, director
of the Partnership for Children in Kansas City, tel.:
816-842-7643.
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