Triad nonprofit helps cover childcare costs to encourage civic engagement

“We exist to make democracy and our democratic processes more accessible to families with children, and we do it by paying for childcare reimbursements while parents participate whether that’s going to public meetings, learning how to advocate, or even all the way up to voting,” said Emily Teixeira, the Executive Director of a non-partisan, nonprofit called Politisit.

Teixeira is a wife and a mother. She’s also a former political strategist and a former U.S. intelligence officer. She knows the importance of civic engagement to a healthy democracy, and she knows the cost of childcare can be a barrier for many families in the Piedmont Triad. 

“North Carolina ranks pretty low on our civic health index,” said Teixeira. “We are last in the nation for contacting public officials. We are in the bottom three for having conversations about what is happening in our governments and in our spheres of influence, and so this is a program, specifically our educational work, where we have people come together in public and have these conversations, and we do it in a civil way where we can talk about issues without talking about the partisan politics behind the issues.”

Politisit hosts a meeting the first Thursday morning of every month at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro. It’s a chance for people to learn about the issues affecting families from political and social leaders.

On this day, North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls met the group to discuss how our court system impacts daily lives. She says meetings like this one allow her to educate people about how our state courts can protect their rights.

“I hope they have a greater understanding of why knowing who’s running for our courts matters and how they can make a difference,” said Earls. “I hope that they take away the importance of civic engagement being more than just what you do on election day, but also the opportunities that you have to talk to other people and to really create community around your values and what you care about.”

Parents who wish to attend meetings or other civic events can submit a request to Politisit explaining what they hope to get out of the meeting and how much their babysitter will charge them. Afterwards, they submit a final amount, and the nonprofit repays them by check or Zelle transfer. A $12,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro helps cover the cost so parents can participate in civic life.

“We’ve even had four parents who started by wanting to get involved and learn more about how the government worked or advocate on an issue, and realized maybe they could do that job,” said Teixeira. “We now have four folks who had run for office and have been elected and are making decisions that impact other families with that lived experience of having had to help paying for the childcare, so they could participate.”

Politisit is nonpartisan with no party ties or political preference. Everyone is welcome to attend the monthly meetings, and you can request a reimbursement form on the agency’s website.