Kids & Family

Wheaton Teen Mom to Address Child Abuse Prevention

Wheaton resident Emily Marsden, 18, will help kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month at Children's Home + Aid's 16th Annual Blue Bow Campaign event.

Emily Marsden, Teen Parent Connection participant, 18-year-old Wheaton resident and mother of two-year-old Ava, is a highlighted speaker at a Chicago event to observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
 
Children’s Home + Aid’s 16th Annual Blue Bow Campaign kick-off promotes awareness for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Illinois and highlights effective community resources that are available to help families. The ceremony and press conference will take place at the Fourth Presbyterian Church at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Chestnut Avenue in Chicago on Monday, April 2nd at 8:30 am.
Earl Kloppman, Program Manager for the Parents Care + Share program of Children's Home + Aid, led the committee who chose Marsden as the parent speaker for the event.
 
“For me, the parent leader is a high point of the press conference,” Kloppman said. “I think the audience is re-energized as well. Emily is very articulate and enthusiastic.  I believe she will do a great job in communicating that parent support groups are needed.”
Nearly 500 babies are born to teenagers each year in DuPage County, and Teen Parent Connection is the only nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in the county exclusively focused on providing comprehensive programs and services related to teenage pregnancy and parenting. One of the agency’s core services are parent support groups, held weekly in seven locations around DuPage County. The Naperville location, which Emily & Ava attend, is funded in part by the Parents Care + Share program of Children’s Home + Aid.
Other noted speakers at this event include The Honorable Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board and Dr. Demetra Soter, Pediatrician at Cook County Hospital.
 
Following Emily’s speech, hundreds will tie a blue bow on a tree along Michigan Avenue to show support for children and families.
Currently a Teen Parent Connection participant attending the Naperville parent group, and a Peer Educator for Teen Parent Connection’s prevention program,
 
Marsden has become an advocate for young mothers and the support available to them and their babies.
“Wheaton teenage moms who I don’t know will contact me through Facebook, not knowing where to go, or what to do,” Marsden says. “I’ll always try and respond, I tell them about Teen Parent Connection. I remember being in those shoes, and being so scared. And now I could not imagine life any other way.”
 
Details regarding the April 2nd event can be found on the Children’s Home + Aid website: https://www.childrenshomeandaid.org.

Information courtesy of a press release from Teen Parent Connection


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