Jonah Edelman

Jonah Edelman
Executive Director
Stand for Children

Jonah Edelman is committed to building a nationwide, grassroots constituency to support issues related to children. Having been inspired by the civil rights movement, Jonah strongly believes in the power of a number of motivated people to create changes that take into account the welfare and future of American children. His leadership in the movement began when he helped to organize “Stand for Children Day” in Washington, DC on June 1, 1996. Attended by more than 300,000 people, it was the largest rally for children in American history. Jonah has since committed himself to raising the visibility of children’s issues nationally, pushing for education reforms, healthcare initiatives, and basic services that give every child a chance to grow up healthy and happy. He stresses the fact that children are not able to speak for themselves at a political level through voting and lobbying. Instead, he has brought together communities of adults who believe in the right of every child to have a fair chance in life. Jonah’s mission, however, is broader than children’s rights: “To me, children are the most oppressed group in our society, and our ill treatment of them is a litmus test of where and who we are.” Thus, he encourages citizens of all backgrounds to take the democratic process into their own hands and improve the lives of children now and for the future. In 1998, Jonah co-founded Stand for Children, a nonprofit membership organization that enables people to join together to advocate for children. The organization provides the structure and creates the numbers to make this possible.