This Valentine’s Day, First Focus and United Way are asking children, parents, and community members to send a strong message to Washington about the importance of protecting our children’s health.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has earned the support of three-fourths of Americans because it works. Over 8 million children get their health coverage through CHIP. Together with Medicaid, it has helped to cut the rate of uninsured kids in half and has protected children from becoming uninsured during the recession. But CHIP’s funding will expire in September, if Congress doesn’t act first.

Will you join us? Whether you use construction paper and a glitter pen, social media, or this simple petition tool asking members to “show kids the love,” is completely up to you.

  1. Send a valentine to your member of Congress by signing the CHIP petition.Sign our online petition to tell your Congressional representatives to protect the health of our nation’s children. 
  2. Send your Representative a Valentine’s Day card.Send a card and encourage your kids, friends or colleagues to send a card to Congress asking them to extend funding for CHIP and protect the coverage of millions of our children. Take a picture of your valentine and send it to us via Facebook and Twitter.
  3. Share the love using social media. Post a message on Faceboook. Send a v-day tweet to congressional leaders. Use the hashtag#ExtendCHIP.

Here are some sample messages:

Join the @UnitedWay @First_Focus #ValentinesDay campaign & tell congress to #ExtendCHIP: http://bit.ly/1vesOlT #liveunited
Tweet this. 

Do you have a min? Tell Congress to show kids the love by protecting child health in 2015: http://bit.ly/1vesOlT #ExtendCHIP #liveunited
Tweet this.

This #ValentinesDay help protect our nation’s most precious resource, children. Ask Congress: #ExtendCHIP http://bit.ly/1vesOlT #liveunited
Tweet this.