Dear Friends and Allies,

This year, Caring Across Generations is proud to commemorate and reflect upon our 10th anniversary. As we look back on where we began, and how far we’ve come in the midst of such a pivotal year for care, we are so grateful for all of you - for sticking by us; for sharing your insight, expertise, and experiences; and for all of your work to build the caring future we all want to live in.

If you have a chance, check out our anniversary series on Instagram, showcasing some of Caring Across’s nearest and dearest, and see how their visions for the future of care have evolved with us through the years.

- Antonia and all of us at Caring Across

Care Can't Wait!

Our Care Can’t Wait coalition has been working tirelessly to make sure that care - in all forms - gets the robust investment it deserves in the Build Back Better Plan. From #CareCantWait Town Halls and Family Meetings, featuring guests like VP Harris and Deb Haaland, to a 24-hour storytelling vigil near the Capitol featuring stories from our partners at ADAPT, NDWA, SEIU, and The Arc, our coalition has been coming out in full force to make sure Congress knows that care matters to all of us. In fact, up to 85% of voters want Congress to act on affordable home care, according to a new poll from our partners at SEIU and a recent poll from Data for Progress.

Will you join us and our partners on Twitter and remind Congress that #CareCantWait? Use our tool to send a tweet directly to your representative and senators, or tweet, share, and tell your own story using the hashtag #CareCantWait to get involved!

Home and Community Based Services: What is it?

Ever wondered how to explain HCBS to your family and friends? We created these handy explainer videos to help you do just that. Share them out to show people that HCBS is so much more than a (sometimes hard-to-remember 🙃) acronym - it can help seniors and people with disabilities age the way they want to, with independence and dignity, and support the workers who help them do so.

Fall Generations Journal: Care Is Fundamental

Today, the American Society on Aging released the first-ever issue of their Generations Journal that features all BIPOC and women-identified authors and experts, guest edited by our own Policy Team Alum and Executive Director of Family Values @ Work, Josephine Kalipeni. The journal features articles from our Senior Development Director Sadé writing on Sandwich Generation Caregiving, Culture Change Director Ishita writing on care and narratives, and our Social Media Manager Ifetayo Harvey writing on aging while incarcerated.

Stay tuned for a Caregiver Corner on October 29th, featuring these authors and the ASA team in conversation on why it’s so important to center the experiences of the most impacted as we fight for better care systems for us all.

In the Field

Last week, our team participated in a roundtable on the gender pay gap in Atlanta, featuring Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Our Campaigns Director Shanté, noting that inequities in care must be addressed to close the gap, told the panel, “Several women that we’ve worked with have actively had to choose between paying for medication or putting food on the table.”

Back In August, our partners in California delivered 400 stories, including from our members and staff, to Representative Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California District Office, where her staff announced that passing HCBS in the Build Back Better plan was her top priority.

ICYMI: In the News

In an exclusive, Parents Magazine featured our #CareCantWait Family Meeting with VP Harris and Sandwich Generations caregiver Jamie Davis, who would benefit from many of the care provisions in the Build Back Better plan.

Our Senior Development Director Sadé and Culture Change Director Ishita spoke with Thinx about how care in our country demands a culture and policy shift: “As people live longer, we need to prepare our economy and support families so they can thrive.”

Our Senior Advocacy Manager Charlotte Dodge was quoted in two USA Today articles, which were picked up nationwide, explaining how financing Medicaid can boost in-home care and how tax credits can help family caregivers.

Our Team is Growing

Since we last wrote to you, we’ve added three amazing new members to our team! Keep an eye on our blog to get to know them a little more very soon - but in the meantime, here are some quick intros (and some favorite fall activities!) - feel free to join us in saying hi and welcome.

Maya Minhas, our new Culture Change Manager, loves seeing the leaves change and eating apple cider donuts.

Leah Porter, our new Senior Manager for People and Culture, loves wearing new fall sweaters.

David Kimelman, our new Legislative Manager, loves hiking.

A Final Note

The movement that we began ten years ago is coming to fruition in each of the care-friendly policies that hang in the balance in Congress right now. As we reach this milestone, your generous and sustained support is an essential investment in the next decade of Caring Across’s work, to create a more caring future for us all.

And don’t forget, Giving Tuesday is around the corner! We’ll be counting on care activists like yourself to help us with peer-to-peer fundraising in our year-end giving challenge.For more information, please contact [email protected].