Children’s Advocate Shriver Visits Child Development Center of the Bluegrass

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2014) -- The Child Development Center of the Bluegrass at the University of Kentucky hosted “A Special Evening with Mark K. Shriver” on Tuesday, Sept. 23.  Shriver was keynote speaker at a dinner held at the Center.

Shriver is senior vice president for strategic initiatives at Save the Children, the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Previously, Shriver served two four-year terms as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and was Maryland's first-ever chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families.

“High-quality early learning programs can set children on a path to success in life – and the more successful they are, the brighter the future for us all,” said Shriver who toured the Child Development Center for the Bluegrass earlier in the day.

Shriver, the son of the late Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, has had a longstanding commitment to children and their well-being. In 1988, Shriver founded the innovative Choice Program, a public/private partnership that serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling and job training services. Shriver has been widely published in the national media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and Newsweek, among others.

He served as chair of the National Commission on Children and Disasters and as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council. Shriver received his undergraduate degree from The College of the Holy Cross in 1986 and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1993.

In August 2012, the Child Development Center of the Bluegrass, relocated to a new facility located on the campus of the University of Kentucky off Alumni Drive near The Arboretum. The Center has served more than 10,000 children in Fayette County and the surrounding area for more than 50 years. After its move to UK, the Center more than tripled the number of children able to be provided services including full-day childhood education for children ages six weeks to pre-kindergarten.

The Center has attained the highest levels of state and national accreditation levels with Kentucky STARS for KIDS NOW and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The facility includes 15 classrooms, three therapy gyms, three breakout rooms, a nursing room, a full kitchen and separate toddler and preschool playgrounds, as well as an observation room where parents can monitor their child's behavior from one of six computers.

For more information about the Child Development Center of the Bluegrass, visit www.cdcbg.org.

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