Durham’s Partnership for Children had the privilege of participating in NC Early Education Coalition’s Advocacy Day on July 13, 2021. This was a day where like–minded organizations and members of the early education community came together from across the state to show their support for funding in early education. We marched around from office to office of the General Assembly in Raliegh to speak with Representatives of Durham County, our goal was to share why the Worthy Wages Campaign for childcare educators and House Bill 574 is so important to our teachers and families we serve. The Worthy Wages Campaign is in short to petition worthy wages for worthy work. The only way to ensure our children are receiving the best educators is if we compensate them for what they are worth. In conjunction with the importance of raising wages for teachers, HB 574 if passed will allow for more affordable childcare for families who need these services. This is imperative due to the number of families who need childcare and cannot afford childcare. We understand the plight of the families we interface with daily, we also hear the educators who strive for excellence in the classroom while receiving subpar wages. Organizations like NCEEC, Every Child NC, EdNC , NC Partnership for Children to name a few rallied together on behalf of our teachers and families within our networks. We wrote letters and spoke to anyone that would listen, however, our work is far from finished. Advocacy for our children is a continuous battle, it is our responsibility to ensure lawmakers understand the difference they can make to improve the early education environment to further prepare our children for success. We encourage you to share your stories with lawmakers and representatives to move the needle, your story matters when advocating for our children!