FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Tordo 610-992-1140 pr@childcareabc.org
DANA FRIEDMAN TO SPEAK AT THE TERRI LYNNE LOKOFF CHILD CARE FOUNDATION NATIONAL CHILD CARE TEACHER AWARDS SPONSORED BY THE MAKERS OF CHILDREN’S TYLENOL®
Port Washington, NY Resident to Deliver Keynote Address at National Awards Presentation
King of Prussia, PA, March 7, 2007 - The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) has announced that nationally known Dana Friedman will be featured as the keynote speaker at the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation National Child Care Teacher Awards™ sponsored by the makers of Children’s TYLENOL®. She will discuss the value of early care and education and the societal benefits at the awards ceremony, which will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at the Pavilion in the King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA, located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Port Washington, NY resident Dr. Dana Friedman is a researcher, policy analyst and community developer focusing on women, children, and family issues. She has worked for several national organizations and served as a consultant to major corporations, government agencies, and foundations. Dr. Friedman is the project director of Early Care and Education-Long Island, a regional effort to improve the quality of early care and education created by five foundations. It serves as a collaboration of more than 75 organizations and community stakeholders committed to young children.
Co-founder and former co-president of the Families and Work Institute (FWI), a non-profit research firm, Dr. Friedman focused on business, government and community efforts to help families care for their dependents. Today, she continues to provide council to FWI. Prior to co-founding FWI, Dr. Friedman was a senior research associate at The Conference Board, a non-profit business think tank, where she created the Work and Family Information Center and the Work/Life Leadership Council in 1983.
Stated Bonnie Squires, Foundation president, “We are truly honored to have Dr. Dana Friedman as our keynote speaker for the National Child Care Teacher Awards. Her expertise in early care and education and work-family balance is an inspiration to all child care teachers and providers, and to those of us who are working to further early care and education in America.”
The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation National Child Care Teacher Awards™ will recognize 54 exemplary early care and education providers for their commitment to maintaining high-quality child care practices and dedication to the children they teach. In addition to the $1,000 award received by each educator, one winner will be selected from the top ten scorers to receive the Foundation’s Helene Marks National Child Care Teacher of the Year Award™.
Child care providers from 41 states have participated in the program. As part of the application process, applicants designed an enhancement project that illustrates the educational, social and emotional benefits for the children in their care. A committee of national early childhood educators and experts reviewed and scored the applications. The top 54 applicants, representing 22 states, were then named recipients of the TLLCCF National Child Care Teacher Awards. Each recipient receives a $1,000 award: $500 to implement their proposed project and $500 to acknowledge their dedication.
The top 10 scorers answer an additional essay question to qualify for the Foundation’s Helene Marks National Child Care Teacher of the Year Award™. The Teacher of the Year receives an additional $1000 award and a shopping spree, courtesy of Bloomingdale’s in the King of Prussia Mall.
From the inception of the Teacher Awards program in 1994, the TLLCCF has presented 433 awards totaling more than $400,000 to early care and education providers for their dedication and excellence in providing quality child care.
TLLCCF Executive Director Allan Miller stated, “Early care and education teachers do more than just watch children when their parents are at work. They are laying the foundation for the children to enter school ready to learn.”
Continued Miller, “Our focus is to improve the quality of programs that care for and educate children from birth through age five and enlist and enlighten others to do the same. The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation’s National Child Care Teacher Awards™ sponsored by the makers of Children’s TYLENOL® allows us the opportunity to personally thank those who are dedicated to teaching our children – our future. By recognizing this group of exemplary child care teachers we are, in fact, honoring all in the field for their valuable contributions to society.”
McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of McNeil-PPC, Inc., the makers of Children’s TYLENOL® has been the title sponsor for six consecutive years. Other major event sponsors include: hosts Bloomingdale’s and King of Prussia Mall as well as WPVI-TV/6ABC.
Observing its 20th year of making America better by improving early care and education, the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation has dedicated its resources to improving the quality of child care for all children; supporting and elevating the status of child care teachers and providers; raising awareness of the need for affordable, quality child care; and, partnering with business and government in making child care a priority. TLLCCF is a nonprofit, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization established in 1987 in memory of Terri Lynne Lokoff, a devoted child care worker.
For additional information about the Foundation or the TLLCCF National Child Care Teacher Awards™ sponsored by the makers of Children’s TYLENOL®, please visit www.childcareabc.org or call 610.992.1140.