Insuring the Children Orange County Chapter Distributes $85,000 to Local Children’s Charities

As chairman of the Grants Committee of Insuring the Children, Orange County Chapter, Larry Shoaf, branch manager and senior vice president of Dodge, Warren & Peters Insurance has been distributing checks to various local charitable organizations. Kathy McCarrell of the Orange County Child Abuse Center recently accepted a check in the amount of $30,000.

The monies will be used in continuing support for its “Teen Voices/Teen Choices” program. “Teen Voices/ Teen Choices” is a program designed to stem the tide of teen pregnancy in Orange County. Panels of trained teen parents go into the community and talk to their peers about the harsh realities of teen parenting. In addition, computerized “Baby Think It Over” dolls designed to replicate the needs of newborns are distributed to youth groups throughout the community as an additional preventative effort.

“As an industry, it’s our business to offer protection to people through insurance, and what better group to protect than kids?” Shoaf explained. “Insuring the Children is a dedicated group of insurance professionals working together to raise funds to support programs that will reduce and eventually eliminate child abuse and neglect in our society. We’re delighted to give back to organizations like Kathy’s what they so selflessly give to children who really need it most.”

The $30,000 check to Orange County Child Abuse Center was one of five grants awarded by Insuring the Children this year. A total of $85,000 was earned from an annual informative and prestigious trade insurance forum last May and a golf tournament held last November at Dove Canyon. As well, four other charitable organizations were awarded thousands of dollars for their child abuse awareness and support prevention programs.

–$5,000 to the 2001 Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Campaign; –$25,000 to Richstone, a facility that provides transitional housing and · counseling for children no longer eligible for foster care;
— $15,000 to the Orange County YMCA’s ARK program – a resource which directly helps abused children in foster care by providing additional staff who screen mentors and tutors;
— $10,000 was sent to the Children’s Bureau of Southern California which supports a comprehensive child abuse prevention program.

Insuring the Children is a non-profit organization created by insurance industry leaders with the goal of supporting child abuse prevention programs and raising awareness of child abuse and neglect. Since its inception in 1994, ITC has raised almost $750,000 to assist child abuse prevention centers. Only through a united effort of the entire insurance industry can we meet our goal to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect. Our most precious resource, children are the most important asset of any nation.

Each of us has a duty to promote a safe and responsible environment for all children. Working together, Insuring the Children encourages the insurance industry to unite in this effort and pool our resources to create a brighter future for our children. There are chapters throughout California in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and in the Midwest.

For more information about Insuring the Children, call Karen Hansen at 714-744-4497. ITC is located at 224 West Maple, Orange, Calif., 92866.

Topics Education Market