This summer iCAN is asking you to support our work by asking yourself the question, So! How are the Children? Support systemic change for Minnesota's children by sponsoring iCAN today and helping us achieve our goal of $8,000 by the end of September!

So! How are the Children?

Rather than asking the typical how are you?, it is said that in the Masai culture people evaluate the quality of a society with the question So! How are the Children? If the children are well, safety and peace will prevail for the entire society.

As people of faith we are called to ask the question How are the Children? of ourselves, and if the answer is not satisfactory, we must act to change the situation.

So! How are Minnesota’s Children?

In Minnesota 11.4% of children under the age of 18 are living in poverty. The rate increases to 13.5% for children below the age of 5 years old. For families, the poverty rate is 6.2% and for families with children under 18 years, the poverty rate is 9.8%, and for families with children under 5 years the rate increases to 12.7%.

The median household income is $72,008, and 12.5% of children are living in households with Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cash public assistance inc06-02-2010ome, or Food Stamp benefits. In Minnesota there are 78,629 children living without health insurance (6.3% of children in the state). There are 108,098 children not enrolled in school in Minnesota between the ages of 3 and 17.

One half of the 14,500 to 17,500 human trafficking victims brought into the U.S. each year are children. Traffickers frequently use fraudulent visas to bring children into Minnesota. Minnesota's anti-trafficking law does not provide for the prosecution of sex traffickers who sell innocent children as a child sex slave to one person.

So! What will you do?

Sponsor iCAN and support faith based systemic change for the children of Minnesota. Your contribution will go towards legislative advocacy and education efforts around the issues of child poverty, early education, child trafficking, health care, safety and abuse and neglect prevention in Minnesota. 

You can also donate without becoming a member. Every dollar helps!

If you are a leader or member of a congregation, please consider encouraging your fellow congregants to make a donation as well, or become a Congregational Sponsor of iCAN.

Other ways to get involved include:

• Be the iCAN Key Advocate for your congregation.
• Host a forum at your congregation, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
• Stay connected by signing up for our newsletter and joining us on Facebook.

iCAN is an organization that truly works through our members and activists, thank you to all of our dedicated supporters!