The Walk

As Florida’s 41^st Governor, my father, Lawton Chiles, understood that any investment made in Florida’s children; investment in education, health care or the building of strong, safe communities, would ultimately yield a great return for the state; the return of a hard-working, intelligent, and responsible generation ready to stimulate a future economy.

Most recently, this child-centric vision has materialized through the Foundation established in his name as a statewide advocacy campaign called Worst To First. This enterprise has an ambitious goal; a goal to reach one million Floridians with a personal call to action and a collective call to account on the part of Florida leadership. Created in partnership with children’s advocates who have been committed to Florida’s children for years, organizations like United Way and Florida Education Association, we’ve worked together to identify important indicators particularly related to the welfare of children. What we’ve learned is shameful. As the fourth largest state with one of the largest economies, Florida ranks near the bottom nationally on matters concerning the well-being of children. In health care and education we have consistently come up short for the children living in this state.

My personal involvement includes a walk; walking one million steps to involve one million people. From Pensacola to Jacksonville; Lake City to Miami, I will walk along and listen to the concerns facing Floridians; concerns about finances, health care, and education. And as I go along, I will gather personal stories, recognize best practice organizations and inspire people to join our cause by signing the Worst To First pledge; a pledge which recognizes your support for better investments on behalf of Florida’s youth. This effort is non-political and non-partisan; my only bias is on behalf of our children’s’ futures.

Only in coming together can we affect change at a statewide level and call leadership to real change, not business as usual.