ChildBuilders Celebrates 30 Years of Promoting Healthy Child and Family Development

ChildBuilders will celebrate its 30th anniversary at an awards luncheon Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at the Houston Country Club.

(PRWEB) September 18, 2004 -- ChildBuilders was founded in 1974 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Originally called Can-Do-It, we adopted the name Houstons Advocates for Mental Health In Children, or HAMIC, in 1996. Our present name was adopted in October of 2000.

ChildBuilders will celebrate its 30th anniversary at an awards luncheon Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at the Houston Country Club. Vicki and Paul Sarvadi will receive the Muriel Folloder Phillips Award for Advocacy of Children and Charitable Causes. Paul is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Administaff, and Vicki is the Executive Director of the Nathaniel Foundation.

Another exciting initiative of ChildBuilders 30th anniversary is the public awareness campaign Because kids dont come with manuals". The campaign was launched with in-kind contributions from The Houston Chronicle and Clear Channel Outdoor. A generous grant from The Brown Foundation, Inc. allowed ChildBuilders to update its website www.childbuilders.org and translate it into Spanish.

Our initial projects identified and helped fill gaps in mental health services for children in the Houston area. We were instrumental in the establishment of Cambio House, Houstons first residential facility for emotionally disturbed children.

We also helped establish a psychiatric residential treatment program at Cullen Bayou Place, and implemented the first crisis beds at Hermann Hospital. ChildBuilders also collaborated with Houston-Galveston Psychoanalytic Institute in the creation of the Child Development Center, an innovative therapeutic preschool.

Today, ChildBuilders is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has served Houston for 30 years. ChildBuilders fills a valuable niche in promoting healthy child and family development through our participation in award-winning programs.

The Community Education Program works to inform parents, caregivers, and professionals about childrens mental health issues, healthy child development, and effective parenting. The Family-Centered Child Care Collaborative is a collaboration of 10 nonprofit organizations aiming to strengthen child care centers and increase parental involvement and services. Parents Under Construction is a curriculum that enables preschool through twelfth grade students to build healthy relationships today and strong families tomorrow by teaching children the parenting skills they will need in the future. Finally, the WHO program is an anti-victimization program that educates parents, teachers, and students from preschool through twelfth grade to recognize and protect victims of child abuse. Together these programs empower our community with knowledge and awareness for positive mental health in children.

For more information, contact:
ChildBuilders
Hillary FitzHugh, Executive Director
7000 Regency Square, Suite 230
Houston, TX 77036
Phone: (713) 783-8470
Fax: (713) 783-8858
www.childbuilders.org
childbuilders@childbuilders.org

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