This past weekend I had the distinct honor of serving as the keynote speaker at the American Pediatric Surgical Association annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. So, what does that have to do with electing Kids First candidates to office? I’ll tell you…but first chip in $10 or any amount here if you agree: It’s time for everyone who cares about kids to get off the sidelines.

As I stood in front of 500+ surgeons, I told my story of getting off the sidelines after the 2016 election and after the Parkland shooting. The story of finding my voice and pushing myself so far outside of my comfort zone that I don't even remember what my comfort zone feels like.

All for one reason, or rather, for 73 million reasons — to build the brightest possible future for every single child in this country.

I first explained I was there to talk about kids and politics. Yes, POLITICS — a word that is so often avoided in academic spaces for fear of being seen as partisan, biased, or unprofessional. But it is exactly BECAUSE we, as medical professionals, have avoided wading into politics, that our kids are left behind time and time again.

I made it clear I wasn't there to talk about firearm injury epidemiology because they don't need to hear that from me — they are on the frontlines; their scrubs are soaked in the blood of America's children.

And if you think that sounds dramatic, I would push back and ask, is it actually possible to OVER-dramatize the death of any child in this country? I don't think so…

So what do we do?

In preparing this talk, I reviewed 2023 lobbying dollars spent by organizations that focus on kids and compared that to dollars spent by the AARP, an organization focused on Americans aged 50 and up. The numbers are genuinely shocking. In 2023 the AARP spent $16.5 million on lobbying and the American Academy of Pediatrics spent just $980,000.

This disinvestment and de-prioritization of America's children must end today — that’s where YOU and Their Future PAC comes in….

We’re working to elect Kids First candidates this November so we can finally put the health and wellbeing of children at the forefront of our political decisions.

Until the kids are alright.

— Dr. Annie Andrews