Hillary Clinton's Too Small to Fail Rallies for Babies

Hillary exemplified the importance of early learning, one of the foci of her Too Small to Fail campaign,  at the dedication this week of the Little Rock Library named for her.

She was completely in her element reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a group of very little listeners.

Focusing on Early Learning Pays Off

This week, one of our partner organizations, Zero To Three, hosted a virtual event to raise awareness and support for improved early childhood education. Titled “Rally4Babies,” the event garnered participation from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and various early childhood advocates (including actress Jennifer Garner!).

Rally4Babies highlights a serious problem in the United States today: A large and growing share of tomorrow’s leaders and workers are growing up without truly being prepared to succeed in the 21^st century. Our nation’s economic prosperity depends on improving early childhood, but wide gaps in support for children in the early years undercuts that opportunity.

Some of the best early education happens not only in the preschool classroom, but in the home as well. Research shows that how we talk to and interact with infants and toddlers form the building blocks of early learning and development, actively shaping their social skills and impacting their ability to learn later in life.

Unfortunately, studies have shown that children from economically disadvantaged homes often know half as many words as children from high-income households. Worse still, fewer than half of low-income children are prepared to start kindergarten, compared to more than 75% of toddlers from high-income homes.

Parents and caregivers can reverse these trends by talking, reading, and sharing more with their babies and young children.

Rally4Babies is a good reminder that together we can change the trajectory for children in our country.

Meanwhile, in an interesting contrast to Hillary's very adorable campaign to educate future voters by promoting pre-literacy skills, Obama field organizers have been hired by Ready for Hillary to stir up enthusiasm for a Hillary 2016 campaign.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2013
Contact:
Seth Bringman, Ready for Hillary, press@readyforhillary.com
Lynda Tran, 270 Strategies, press@270strategies.com

Ready for Hillary Teams Up with 270 Strategies to Build National Grassroots Army, Harness Volunteer Excitement for Potential 2016 Clinton Candidacy

Top Obama Campaign Veterans Will Lead Ready for Hillary Organizing Strategy, Develop Field Operation From the Ground Up

MCLEAN, VA – The national grassroots organization Ready for Hillary today announced it is partnering with consulting firm 270 Strategies to harness the energy of the growing number of activists around the country who are inspired and motivated by the idea of a 2016 Clinton candidacy. 270 Strategies, whose partners engineered President Obama’s historic grassroots organizing model, will lead Ready for Hillary’s national organizing strategy and build the group’s field operation.
“Ready for Hillary has sought out the most talented people in the business to harness the energy of everyday Hillary supporters and lay the groundwork for 2016,” said Senior Advisor Craig T. Smith. “There is no one that better understands grassroots presidential politics than the team that won the last two presidential elections. Already, hundreds of thousands of Americans are joining Ready for Hillary’s national movement and urging Hillary to run. The professionals at 270 Strategies will help us expand and mobilize that effort in all corners of the country.”
270 Strategies will manage daily operations for Ready for Hillary’s on-the-ground field, volunteer training and recruitment, and constituency engagement programs. Born of the basic belief that grassroots campaigns can change the world, the firm is named for the number of electoral votes required to win the presidency.
“We know from years of leading the Obama organization that empowering people and engaging grassroots volunteers are the most critical components of building a winning, 21st century campaign. That’s why we’re pleased to be working with the Ready for Hillary team to help tap into the organic grassroots energy we’re seeing around the country from voters of all ages who are already inspired by the notion of a potential Clinton candidacy,” said Jeremy Bird, a founding partner with 270 Strategies and former national field director for the 2012 Obama campaign.
“By building a strong volunteer organization now that connects with young people, women, and voters in key minority communities, the Ready for Hillary team is ensuring that if and when Hillary makes any decision about her political future, she’ll have the grassroots army she needs to pave her way to victory and the White House.”
Since launching on April 2, Ready for Hillary has built a growing network of more than 375,000 Facebook supporters – with an online reach of 71 million people – and more than 5,000 grassroots donors.

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ABOUT READY FOR HILLARY
Ready for Hillary is the nation’s premier independent group urging former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016. RFH is working to lay the groundwork by assembling an army of grassroots Hillary supporters and building an organization to support her potential candidacy. We believe that Hillary Clinton is the best qualified person to be President in 2016 and her historic election would build upon the progress of President Obama and continue to lead this country into the future.
ABOUT 270 STRATEGIES
270 Strategies is a next-generation consulting firm that is redefining how companies and organizations build winning campaigns. We believe effective, 21st century campaigns must integrate people-centered, grassroots organizing with smart digital strategies and a data-driven approach. We’re changing the way our clients manage their strategies and meet their goals – and changing the world in the process.
ABOUT JEREMY BIRD
Jeremy Bird leads the Chicago-based operations of 270 Strategies. Bird served most recently as the National Field Director for the 2012 re-election campaign of President Barack Obama, where he had primary responsibility for building a nationwide army of staff and volunteer organizers. Dubbed the campaign’s “Field General” by Rolling Stone magazine, Bird was listed among “The Obama Campaign’s Real Heroes” and has been cited as “a former Harvard divinity student who took to political organizing as though it were his higher calling.” He is credited with helping establish a ground game and turnout machine that in 2012 “reproduced – through brute force, dedication and will – a turnout in the swing states that in some cases bested the campaign's remarkable performance of four years ago.”

Hmmmmmm... brute force.