We have missed being able to see you over the last year. Although it is still too soon to bring people together face-to-face, we are excited to tell you about our upcoming Raising Every Child Virtual Event. We hope you can join us.
By this time last year, we had already booked a return visit by Harvard University’s Robert Putnam, reserved our space at the convention center and printed the sponsorship programs for our annual Raising Every Child Benefit Luncheon. We have lost our largest in-person fundraiser two years in a row. We have missed seeing donors like you. We didn’t get a chance to honor Joe Crocker for his lifetime of service. And, we missed a chance to tell you all of the exciting things we were doing. But, that didn’t mean our work stopped. Despite the pandemic – and in some cases, because of it – we adapted and changed tactics, but we kept moving, kept helping and kept the Vision in Motion.
This year, we will gather, but virtually. We hope you will reserve your seat at no cost. And, we hope that you will encourage anyone you know who cares about children and families in our community to save their spot as well.
We plan to be back next year to do all the things we didn’t get to do – Putnam, Crocker, a communal lunch – all of it. But, for now, we need to keep the conversation going virtually. And, we need champions more than ever. We didn’t stop, but we do have some catching up to do. We’re ready to work as long and as hard as it takes to make up for what we lost, but we can’t do it without you.
Join us on May 5th for an hour-long panel discussion. Two local community experts and a parent of a young child will lead the discussion.
- Dr. Shenell McClurkin Thompson with the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color – particularly with young children. She will explain the connection between health equity and educational equity, considering that many low-income families with young children receive health screenings and are connected to a medical home by the staff of early childhood development programs. She will also share what we have learned from COVID-19 about the need for universal Pre-K to ensure the health of young children.
- Lia Erickson, a pediatrician with Novant Health, will focus on delivering medical/health services to young children during the pandemic, specifically in terms of maintaining contact with their medical home and dealing with the effects of social isolation.
- Our parent panelist will share experiences and insight from a family supporting their young children during the last year. Enrollment in the North Carolina Pre-K program in Forsyth County is down by more than 40 percent during the pandemic year, and for much of the time those enrolled were only being reached remotely.
Have you been concerned about our children during the pandemic? If so, join us for this discussion to hear from local experts. There is good news; our children are resilient and will bounce back, but some will need our help.
Thanks to our generous presenting sponsor, Kaplan Early Learning Company, the event is free and all donations will go directly to support the work of Family Services.
Save your spot now. Visit tinyurl.com/raisingeverychild or call us at 336.722.8173.
Michelle Speas, CFRE
Vice President, Philanthropy and Public Relations
