#StrongMomStrongBaby: Campaign Earns National Advocacy Award
As you plan your holiday giving this year, we encourage you to consider a gift to support the ongoing efforts of the #StrongMomStrongBaby campaign. You can donate here to help moms and babies across the Commonwealth, simply by entering “#StrongMomStrongBaby” in the in honor of box.
Our continued work with the #StrongMomStrongBaby campaign has given us a lot to be proud of – and even more to be thankful for. That work has put us in touch with more than 40 incredible organizations across Pennsylvania dedicated to infant and maternal health. It has given us the opportunity to work side-by-side with four of the most tireless, dedicated legislative champions anyone could ask for. And – most importantly – it has helped us advance legislation (SB 200 / HB 200) that will make an immediate, life-changing impact on families otherwise unable to access the services they need.
And while we continue to fight for the passage of SB 200 and HB 200 in the PA General Assembly, it’s obviously an incredible honor when our amazing team is recognized for the work they do every day. That’s why we were thrilled to have our own DCS associate director Charlie Lotz attend the Perinatal Mental Health Society’s national conference in Chicago earlier this month, from November 7th – 10th. Charlie was there to accept, on the team’s behalf, the 2017 Maternal Mental Health Innovation Award for Advocacy & Policy from PNMHS and 2020 Mom, with generous support from the Zoma Foundation.
PNMHS and 2020 Mom received more than 50 applications for its three award categories. Along with #StrongMomStrongBaby’s win for Advocacy & Policy, Ohio’s POEM program and California’s Mothers Strongeffort were recognized for awards in Clinical Programs and Community Solutions, respectively. We were also thrilled to be joined at the award ceremony by one of our #SMSB coalition partners, Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia, who took runner-up honors in the Community Solutions category for their Ma’oz Bloom program.
JFCS was one of several #SMSB partners who also attended the rest of the PNMHS conference, and we were thrilled for chance to meet, learn about some of the most cutting-edge work happening in the field of perinatal mental health, and see firsthand how the national spotlight is now on Pennsylvania, our model, and our work to pass SB / HB 200 to qualify infants whose mothers screen at risk for depression for Early Intervention tracking and screening. We plan to do them proud – let’s pass that bill!