Growing up is difficult. Questions abound while answers seem scarce. Virtually every decision a child makes is dependent in some form or fashion upon the willingness of an adult to grant permission. From what clothes to wear to what food to eat, kids need guidance – even if they don’t believe they do – from adults in their lives.

But what about the kids that have very little guidance? What of the kids who, rather than complain about having to eating their vegetables, simply hope for a warm meal at the end of the day? Who care more about having clean clothes that won’t embarrass them rather than the latest designer jeans? Who speaks up for those children that have no voice?

You do. I do. A community of caring adults does.

During the month of May we want to take time to focus on children. We always say we work on their behalf, but sometimes as adults we get so lost in arguments with other adults that we fail to remember why we really argue in the first place. For advocates like us the saying isn’t trite: it really is about the kids.

Each of us has a mind full of childhood memories. As adults, though, it’s often impossible to fully understand what it’s like to be a kid in Arkansas right now. The schools we attended are no longer the same. The neighborhoods where we were raised have undergone significant changes. Statistically speaking, it’s likely you no longer live in the same town where you were raised. What about the community where you currently live? What do you really know about being a kid there? About being poor, minority, or marginalized in some way because of social status?

For the next 30 days we hope to take you on a journey down Memory Lane while pointing out the current plight of the average low-income Arkansas child. As we settle into the summer and hear politicians of all stripes talk about what he or she wants to do “for the children” let’s be sure to understand what exactly it is to be one of those kids. By putting ourselves in their shoes we may actually be able to ask the right questions and propose some good ideas that may benefit the children politicians profess to want to help.

Please join us this summer and through the fall on our 2012 Kids Campaign. We need to come together and provide a strong voice on behalf of the kids in Arkansas. Each of us have benefited from investments made by adults while we were kids. Those investments allowed us to grow up to be the people we are today. The kids in Arkansas need us to provide that same leadership and planning on their behalf. Let’s all commit to speaking up on their behalf and to Vote for Kids in the 2012 elections.

If you would like to get involved in the 2012 Kids Campaign, please email our Outreach Director, Brett Kincaid, at bkincaid@aradvocates.org.