Meet Our Board
About Sunshine Strategies
Sunshine Strategies is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to making civic engagement accessible and understandable for children and their families. Our focus is on educating and empowering the next generation of active citizens. We believe that every child has the right to be informed and engaged in the democratic process, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.
In 2018, Jen McMillin ran for the Illinois House with her family. Each week, her son would have a new, interesting question at 4 years old that Jen and her family would explore. This, coupled with Jen’s work in the nonprofit, education, and public sectors, highlighted the knowledge gap in civic engagement and local issues for local families of young children. Her desire to make politics understandable for young children which started at her kitchen table has led her to create Kids Political Radio in 2022. It has grown to encompass this unique nonprofit advocacy organization.
Sunshine Strategies provides advocacy and lobbying services for families with children, including families below the poverty line, those at risk of neglect, single-parent families, foster care, and multi-generational families.
Our Values
Youth Empowerment
We believe in the limitless potential of young citizens to make a difference in their communities. We, and the organizations that we work with, choose to invest in children and their families as the key to a brighter future for our democracy and our world.
Respect
We root ourselves in our shared humanity and treat each other with kindness and compassion. We’re at our best when we honor the equal dignity and worth of all people — even in the face of intense debate over important issues.
Connecting Communities
We believe in the value of healthy, lasting relationships between all members of our communities, local to global. Sunshine Strategies strives to do our part to positively contribute to the people and environments around us.
Whole Family Well-being
We foster safe spaces that enhance the social, emotional, and physical well-being of young people and their families, while also making our community a safer place to live.
Community Commitment
We are deeply connected with young people, their parents, and our community. We commit to allowing their voices to guide our work, and to doing whatever it takes to help them thrive.
Equity and Inclusion
We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live their full potential, and that our democracy is stronger when it is full of opportunities for people with diverse identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. We strive every day to make our work more equitable and inclusive.
Joy
We believe every person deserves to have joy in their life. We create opportunities to learn important issues while remembering to have fun every day, recognizing that joy is the key that unlocks positive youth development and brighter futures.
Promoting Solutions
It’s not enough for us to call attention to issues facing our kids and communities; we develop, research, and promote concrete steps toward initiatives that have a clear benefit to our kids and future generations.
