NOW Innovation Forum Newsletter: 2020 In Review

As we wave goodbye to 2020 and warmly embrace a new year of ever growing community power and collective change, we want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for the great contributions that you have made to the Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Innovation Forum. When the NOW Innovation Forum was launched 2 years ago, the idea was that it served to promote shared learning and networking across the field by bringing together resources, stories, discussions, innovations, and other interactive tools in a central hub, in hopes of connecting communities across the country that are working to ensure all children and their families achieve optimal health and wellbeing. In 2020 you each contributed to making this vision a reality.

Despidiendonos del 2020 y al bienvenir el año nuevo de poder crecer como una comunidad cada vez mejor y hacer un cambio colectivo, queremos darle un momento para agradecer a todos y cada uno de ustedes por las contribuciones que han hecho a las Redes de Oportunidades para la el Bienestar Infantil (NOW) Foro de Innovación. Cuando se lanzó el Foro de innovación NOW hace 2 años, la idea era que sirviera para promover un aprendizaje compartido y la creación de redes en todo el campo para reunir recursos, historias, debates, innovaciones y otras herramientas interactivas en un lugar central, con la esperanza de conectar comunidades de todo el país que trabajan para garantizar que todos los niños y sus familias logren una salud y un bienestar óptimos. En 2020, cada uno de ustedes contribuyó a hacer realidad esta visión.

A Year In Review with the NOW Innovation Forum
This edition of the NOW Innovation Forum newsletter will include many of the incredible highlights that were accomplished on the virtual platform during 2020. After a team reflection, we realized this was a huge moment to celebrate and we only hope to continue growing as a network and building those critical connections that allow for community transformation and continued work to pave the road to eliminating health disparities for all children and their families. Check out the 2020 Highlights below:

• Reached 263 total members
• Added 101 tools and resources to the NOW Resource Library
• Shared 20 new blog publications
• Hosted 3 Virtual Learning Labs that connected with an international audience
• Reached more than 1,000 downloads of In The Arena With NOW

An additional highlight was sharing in critical thoughts and conversations during the Vital Village Networks 2020 National Community Leadership Summit. Please continue to engage and build connections on the NOW Twitter account. All of this, led by leaders like you, deserves a moment of celebration. Cheers to continued leadership growth, commitment to creating more equitable early childhood systems, and a truly cherished network. Stay tuned throughout 2021 for the latest conversations, stories and resources for advancing and promoting child wellbeing. We look forward to connecting with you NOW and in the future!

In The Arena with NOW Podcast: Celebrating 7 episodes published in 2020! Here are the top 3 most listened to:

• From Data to Action: Community Stories Lead to Policy Change
  
• Residents Driving Change: The Community Solutions Grant Program
  
• Adelante, Adelante: El movimiento hacia la justicia del idioma y la equidad/Adelante, Adelante: The Movement Towards Language Justice and Equity. This episode is celebrated as the first bilingual NOW Podcast. In 2020, we worked with community champions to implement practices of language justice. We learned a lot, and have only even further to go. Thank you to Camila Beiner, our local community language justice champion, and to the Denver Community Language Cooperative, for continuing to support our efforts to be a more inclusive network.

NOW Blog: 20 powerful pieces were published in 2020 by community leaders and members of Vital Village Networks. Our top viewed blogs in 2020 include:

• Community Champion Spotlight: Altorice Frazier, by Tiffany Rodriguez, Program Coordinator, Vital Village Networks. The community champion series kicked off in the fall of 2020 and has since highlighted a few of the many incredible people transforming early childhood systems across the nation. You can nominate a community champion for the continued series here.
• Transforming Early Childhood Mental Health Stigma in the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina, by Adrienne Troy-Frazier, Executive Director of Berkeley County First Steps and BEE-Collective Member.
  
• Campeona de la comunidad/Community Champion: Cynthia Zapata, by Tiffany Rodriguez, Program Coordinator, Vital Village Networks.

Virtual Learning Labs: Check out all 3 sessions of the 2020 Webinar Series: Learning and Transforming Together: Community-Centered Equity Practices, below! Over 240 community leaders and advocates attended these interactive sessions.

• Spring 2020: Operationalizing Equity through Participatory Data Storytelling. View the featured Vital Village NetworksChild Wellbeing Tracker and Community Housing Data Tool.
  
• Summer 2020: Community-Driven Policy Advocacy: Upholding the Dignity of Immigrant Children and Families
  
• Fall 2020: Creating Pathways for Community Leadership Our most recent webinar that received 93 attendees!

Resource Library: The NOW Resource Library is designed to be an open access resource to all. We hope that you will contribute content, toolkits, and resources in this coming year. We added 101 new resources thanks for your suggestions and ideas. Check out the most viewed tools of 2020:

• A Roadmap for Promoting Health Equity and Eliminating Disparities: The Four I's for Health Equity
  
• Breath of LifeTheory
  
• Ways to Promote Children's Resilience to the COVID19 Pandemic

Peer Learning Clusters: In 2020, we wrapped up the 18 month long journey of the NOW Learning Community. From it, emerged a continued version of leadership through the newly launched Peer Learning Clusters. Fill out this brief interest form by Sunday January 31st if you are interested in joining in on this opportunity.

• 6 leaders are paving the way to launch 3 Peer Learning Clusters in the first quarter of 2021: Trauma Informed Prac tices, Family Engagement, ECE Workforce Development
  
• 13+ hours of virtual planning and design meetings have been recorded in the efforts to create an opportunity that is engaging and authentic.

Up and Coming in 2021: Stay connected and engaged with the NOW community this year through the many exciting opportunities. Announcements below:

• Jan 25: Vital Village Networks Network Connector Meeting & Unsung Hero Awards. RSVP Here >>
  
• Jan 31: Last day to sign up for 1 of the 3 launching Peer Learning Clusters. Interest Form >>
  
• Feb 17: Resilience Cafe, Community Resilience Collaborative of Middlesex County. RSVP Here >>
  Follow the new Instagram account for Vital Village ( @vitalvillage) for more updates on The Village.

We want to lift up network events! Please send Tiffany Rodriguez, tiffany.rodriguez@bmc.org, news and announcements you would like to share with the NOW community.

#VillageinMind

The NOW community hopes to stay connected and lift up the work and stories of all of our members. Follow and tag us on Twitter, @NOW_WellChild & @Vital_Village, so that we can virtually highlight the community led transformation you are leading.