Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Another award winning moment

June 2011
Dear Friends, Colleagues and Families,

We are delighted to share our recent newsworthy events, and hope that you continue to be inspired by our mission to create awareness, provide education and bring child life and development services to children and families in healthcare systems worldwide.

Since 1988, The Child Life Council has honored the child life profession’s outstanding leaders and pioneers with the annual Distinguished Service Award. In May, 2011, at the annual conference in Chicago, our own exceptional Board Member, Sheila Palm, was presented with this outstanding recognition; the highest award presented by the Child Life Council (CLC) Board of Directors. Sheila is currently the Child Life Manager at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. She transformed a 3-person program to a team of 18 staff members, and then in 1993, managed the merger of two separate child life departments as part of the system-wide hospital merger that created Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Under her steady and innovative leadership over the ensuing 18 years, the staff has grown to nearly 50 individuals. Beyond her work within her own institution, Sheila continually shares her expertise with other programs in her capacity as an author, policy reviewer, and champion. She has held CLC Board positions as President and Treasurer, been involved in strategic planning initiatives and currently participates in the International Task Force. We congratulate her for this well-deserved award and honor her as a member of our Executive Board.

Also this Spring, The Priyanka Foundation sponsored the special Top Girl trophy for both grades K-3 and 4-6 at the annual Minnesota School Chess Association’s state tournament, remembering that our own little girl, our inspiration, Priyanka, was an outstanding chess player. To support and encourage students to pursue the intellectual challenge and friendly competition of the game, our founder, Leela Rao, personally presented trophies to the First Place winners, reminding participants of the crown that each wears, in their role as global citizens. This is a good opportunity to point out that our foundation logo represents the King and Queen of the chess board!

The business of the foundation is expanding steadily, with two new employees hired as staff members at The Priyanka Child Life and Development Center at Manipal Hospital, in Bangalore, India. We are thrilled at the progress we are making in Bangalore, and each day, we receive updates from our team in India, letting us know that our programming brings positive and exciting experiences to sick kids and their families. In pursuit of our goal of global access to Child Life and Development, we hope to have a Center open in Mumbai by the end of the year.

This is an exciting time for The Priyanka Foundation, as we move forward, gathering momentum and global recognition. The mission remains focused and achievable: make a significant and positive impact in the lives of hospitalized children and their families. We invite you to help spread the word about The Priyanka Foundation and the crucial work performed by the Child Life and Development specialists. We appreciate your continued support, both financially and enthusiastically.