Join CHN, MomsRising, First Focus, and other advocates across the nation on Thursday, November 19 from 1-2 pm ET for an #InvestInKids twitterstorm. Use the hashtag to share with Congress why it is vital to invest in programs that support our nation’s children.

Even though Congress has already passed a two-year budget resolution, lawmakers still must decide which programs receive funding and which get more investments. While children represent around 25 percent of our nation’s population, spending on children amounts to less than 8 percent of the federal budget. Additionally, discretionary spending for children is down 6.9 percent since 2011, which includes a nearly 20 percent decrease in spending on education. This is why it is crucial to let Congress know that they must invest in our nation’s children.

Federal programs benefit children and families in every facet of their life. WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) provides 8.2 million women and children with breastfeeding education, counseling, nutrition education, and much more. The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit lift roughly 10 million Americans, including 5 million children, out of poverty every year. Equally as important, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides very-low income Americans with assistance to purchase nutritionally adequate diets. SNAP serves around 46 million Americans and lifted 2.1 million children out of poverty in 2014. Our children are the future of our country and right now, too many of our nation’s kids are struggling. We have to let legislators know that children are important and that Congress must #InvestInKids.

Follow #InvestInKids, @CoalitiononHN, @MomsRising, and @First_Focus and use the sample tweets below to get involved on November 19 at 1 pm ET. Feel free to tweet about programs that you care about that help children and be sure to include the #InvestInKids hashtag.

Will Congress #InvestInKids in the federal budget? Join us in this important discussion on 11/19 1-2pm! @MomsRising @First_Focus

— Coalition on Human Needs (@CoalitionHN) November 13, 2015

Sample Tweets:

Federal investments are declining – @HouseAppropsGOP, will you #InvestInKids in the federal budget? #DontCutKids

 #Childnutrition investments keep kids full, healthy, and out of poverty. @AppropsDems, please #InvestInKids

 Investments in education are down a whopping 20% since 2011, @SenateApprops, please #InvestInKids

 Did u know #WIC serves more than 1/2 of the babies in the US? @HouseAppropsGOP Check out this video: http://bit.ly/1PQchS5 & #InvestInKids

#WICMatters to these moms! Read their stories and stand up for #WIC and #InvestInKids: http://bit.ly/1H820ir

Nearly 1 in 5 working moms of very young children work low-wage jobs. Affordable #childcare is crucial for these families. #InvestInKids

#earlylearning pays off: For every $1 invested society sees an $8 return. @AppropsDems—It’s time to #InvestInKids!

Research shows kids of #EITC recipients do better in school, attend college & earn more as adults. #InvestInKids w/ #workingfamilycredits!