Saturday, March 06, 1999

Help for new moms pledged

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Home visitation program to aid 1,200 mothers

BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        A home visitation program organized by United Way & Community Chest hopes to work with 1,200 new mothers this year, according to an update Friday morning at the agency's annual meeting.

        Judith Van Ginkel, steering committee chairwoman of the “Every Child Succeeds” visitation initiative, told several hundred people at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center that the program will spend about $3,000 to serve each of those mothers.

        The goal is to save lives and prevent hundreds of cases of child abuse each year.

        “How can we not afford to do this?” asked Ms. Van Ginkel, assistant senior vice president of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

        The United Way began working on its Every Child Succeeds initiative in May 1997 and decided home visitation was the most effective way to help children.

        The organization anticipates eventually visiting 11,000 mothers a year in a nine-county area stretching across Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

        “It is an example of regionalism,” said United Way President Dick Aft.

        Children's Hospital and the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency will help lead the project, which will eventually spend about $25 million a year helping new mothers. Leaders of the program hope it will cut child abuse, teen pregnancy, infant mortality rates and other social problems.

Award winners
        Also at the annual meeting, the United Way & Community Chest named its major award winners from the past year:

        • The late Lavatus V. Powell Jr. was announced as the winner of the Joseph A. Hall Award for commitment to fostering positive support of diversity.

        Mr. Powell, retired vice president of government relations at Procter & Gamble, died Feb. 17. He was 64. He served two, three-year terms as a United Way trustee. His many civic contributions included the presidency of Family Service of the Cincinnati Area and membership on the President's Council of Boy Scouts of America, Dan Beard Council.

        • Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc./Indigo Medical core team and employees received the Neil H. McElroy Award for exemplary volunteer performance.

        The team from the Blue Ash-based companies raised a combined $1,090,000 for United Way in 1998, making it the 10th-largest local campaign. The 1998 drive raised a record $54,100,531.

        • Moira Squier received the William A. Mitchell Leadership Recognition Award for her work at the Memorial Community Center, which serves residents of Mount Auburn, Over-the-Rhine and Corryville.

        A board member since 1992, Ms. Squier is credited with putting long- and short-term plans in place to strengthen the organization.

        • Marge Gambow received the Pearl S. Gantz Recognition for Service Award for her volunteer work as a court-appointed advocate with Pro- Kids.

        Known for her deep passion and compassion for children, Ms. Gambow is credited with personally keeping 10 children from “falling through the cracks” of the juvenile dependency system in her 10 years with ProKids.

        • Kourtney Kerregan, 14, received the Youth Recognition Award for his volunteer contributions at Stepping Stones Center.

        He volunteered last summer at the camp, which specializes in programs for people young people with disabilities. He was a camper there in 1996.

       

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