There are more than 1,000 children under the age of five in Door County today. How many ofthem have to be taken care of all day, every day by an adult? ALL of them.
Some families are able to have a parent stay home and provide child care until the child enters school. Other families rely on grandparents or other family members for child care. Many families in our community entrust the care of one or more of their children to licensed or unlicensed child care providers.
No Small Matter is a groundbreaking documentary that examines who provides child care across the county, how they do it, and the tangible and intangible costs on families, child care providers, businesses, and communities. As part of United Way of Door County’s mission to build a community where all people can achieve their full potential, it is excited to bring No Small Matter to our community for four free community showings. Executive Director Amy Kohnle stated that “We all know that high-quality child care is important not only for the children receiving care, but also the parents, our school systems, employers, and general community. A lot of time, money, and energy goes into providing child care in our community, yet still we are left feeling we are falling short in some ways. No Small Matter can help us all have a better understanding of why that is.”
No Small Matter is unique in the way it dives deep into the complicated science, history, and sociology that has brought our early care and education system to where it is today.
As United Way of Door County continues to work on strengthening our community by increasing the education, financial stability, and healthy lifestyles of community members, No Small Matter can help inform ongoing community conversations about this important issue.
No Small Matter explores the state of early childhood education in America today, lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years in terms of childhood development, and reveals how the failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for families.
United Way of Door County will be offering four free showings of No Small Matter throughout the county between March 31 and May 19. No RSVP required.
• Tuesday, March 31, 5:30-7:30pm at Southern Door High School library
• Monday, April 6, 6:00-8:00pm at Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay
• Monday, April 13, 6:00-8:00pm at the Sister Bay Village Hall in Sister Bay
• Tuesday, May 19, 6:30-8:30pm at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor.
Please contact Christina Studebaker at United Way of Door County with any questions: christina@unitedwaydc.com or 920-746-9645.
Film Synopsis
No Small Matter is built from stories of real children, families, and teachers, illustrating the impact of high-quality early childhood experiences. We meet parents who are struggling to do their best for their kids, incredible teachers who model what early childhood classrooms should and could be like, and children learning and developing in real time. These stories remind us that change is necessary, critical, and attainable if we put our minds to it.
The film is also firmly grounded in science, opening up the “black box” of what’s happening inside children’s brains with exciting, stimulating animation and information from leading scientists, physicians, and early childhood education experts. Drawing on the work of economists such as Nobel Prize winner James Heckman, and the latest research in brain imaging and child development, No Small Matter breaks down complicated scientific details into terms everyone can understand , paving the way for us all to see what children really need to thrive.
To view the movie trailer, click here.
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