Find out who will be joining Marian Wright Edelman, Geoffrey Canada, and Angela Glover Blackwell to speak at CDF’s national conference and what you can do to build the public will in your community to create real change for children and the poor. Today discover some of the extraordinary workshops presenters, like Jerry Weast who turned around one of the largest school districts in the country and closed the achievement gap for thousands of children. Join The Children’s Defense Fund in eight weeks for Pursuing Justice for Children and the Poor with Urgency and Persistence, our first national conference in nearly a decade and learn firsthand from the most committed experts and decision makers across disciplines. We know what works.

Whatever area of social justice you most care about -- from early childhood education, to child welfare, to mass incarceration and juvenile justice The Children’s Defense Fund will empower you with the tools to meet your challenges. But don’t take our word for it, see for yourself who some of our featured speakers and workshop and mini-plenary session presenters will be on the Children’s Defense Fund’s conference website (check back often as more are being confirmed each day).

This weekend, 1,400 college-age students will make their way to Knoxville, Tenn. and CDF Haley Farm for the CDF Freedom Schools National Training. This year, CDF Freedom Schools Servant Leader interns go through a vigorous week-long training on the proven CDF Freedom Schools model that stems summer learning loss through an integrated reading curriculum. They will experience team-building exercises and exercise their own voice through chants of empowerment and freedom. Watch the video and view the photo slideshow for a glimpse of the positive energy and forcefulness that comes when so many young people are committed to a good cause. Inspired, they will return home to teach a record number of low-income students in 24 states and 84 cities this summer.

With a record number of children living in poverty and going to bed hungry, the need is greater than ever. A critical election is on the horizon, and our children have so much to lose. That’s why we are bringing together an additional 1,500 young people for our national conference as part of the Young Adult Leadership Training (YALT®). Learn more about the youth empowerment workshops and mini-plenary sessions offered and help spread the word about our newly announced speakers on Facebook and Twitter.

It’s the Budget, Stupid

With all the political crosstalk, it’s easy to lose track of the importance of the budget and what it means for children. We can’t let that happen, especially as politicians head home to their districts and advocate for cuts to key programs like Medicaid and CHIP that keep children healthy and ready to learn. Cascading cuts at the federal, state and local levels threaten basic child care, education and nutrition programs. Don’t let them take food from our children’s mouths. More cuts to services for children is a prescription for failure today and tomorrow, as we lose our economic competitiveness when we fail to educate our children. Tell them to choose babies over billionaires and make rich individuals and corporations who have gotten the most pay their fair share. Come to the conference to learn more about budget cuts and what you can do to protect children and the poor. Check the website often as we will be announcing featured speakers in the coming days.

We Must Stop ‘Stop and Frisk’

If you live in New York City’s greater metropolitan area, plan on joining Marian Wright Edelman and CDF-New York at the Father’s Day rally, Sunday, June 17, to silently protest the Stop and Frisk policies of the New York Police Department. To learn more read last week’s Child Watch® Column and register for the conference to learn more about dismantling the feeder systems of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline.

Last week, Coach held a Hollywood event to benefit the Children’s Defense Fund at J.J. Abrahms’ Bad Robot studio. Coach announced a $100,000 donation to CDF-CA and a surprise 24 hour pledge to pay $10 per tweet #COACHLOVESCDF to help us raise an additional $10,000. THANK YOU to everyone who helped us surpass our goal and to Coach for their generous gift! The outpouring of love and support we received was humbling. Check out a photo slideshow of all the celebrities who came out for an evening of cocktails and shopping to benefit The Children’s Defense Fund in Los Angeles. Please support the urgent work of our national conference with a donation today.