Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

May 1, 2006

March Till You Drop (Just Don't Shop)

This year, May 1st - May Day (or Beltane if you prefer the Gaelic version) - has more than the usual significance. Today, hundreds of thousands of people will participate in "Un Dia Sin Immigrante" ("A Day Without Immigrants") to protest the House of Representative's punitive anti-immigration bill. Immigrants and those who support them are calling for a nationwide boycott of work, school and shopping. The aim is to show how much the American economy depends on the contributions of immigrant workers. Rallies and marches are scheduled all over the country. Here's what's happening in Albuquerque:

  • 3pm: People begin gathering at Tiguex Park in Old Town (at Mountain Rd. NW). Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy live music.
  • 5pm: People at the park begin a march to Civic Plaza where immigration experts will speak.
  • Wear a white tee-shirt or arm band.
  • Bring a white flag (no American, Mexican, etc., flags please).

For more information on this movement go to http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/

America Undercover

May 1st is also the first day of National Cover the Uninsured Week, a week dedicated to shedding light on the fact that far too many Americans lack health insurance. People are asked to tell Congress to make health care coverage a top priority. Here's why:

  • Nearly 46 million Americans lack health insurance.
  • Of those, more than 8 million are children.
  • As insurance costs rise, so do the numbers of people without coverage.
  • The uninsured are less likely to receive preventative care so the emergency room becomes their first and last resort.
  • One serious injury or illness can wipe out a family's life savings and result in the loss of their home or worse.

Email your Congressperson:

Find out about local events at http://covertheuninsured.org/events/?StateID=NM

Pop Quiz!

May Day also means that the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is just around the corner. For the past five years, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has set aside May 3rd as a day to openly and honestly discuss teen sex and its consequences. Teens across the country are encouraged to take a quiz created for the campaign, which poses real-life scenarios and possible reactions. (Parents might learn more about the pressures today's teens face by taking the quiz themselves. It only takes five minutes.)

Take the quiz at http://www.teenpregnancy.org/

Thanks for the Memories

Friday, April 28th, we held our 12th annual Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards. We honored 39 young people from across the state for the extraordinary volunteer work they do to improve conditions in their hometowns as well as in communities across the globe. For photos taken by Ray A Mares of the nominees and three finalists (unfortunately, this year's winner was not able to make the event), click on http://www.sillypappas.com/gallery/1409105

Register now for the RACE MATTERS conference to be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2006. Visit http://action.voiceshub.org/nmvoicesforchildren/events/racematters2006/details.tcl for more information.