• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Utica College to Receive Child Life Council Spirit of Giving Award

Posted on: Monday, 18 May 2009, 14:26 CDT

UC President Todd Hutton to accept national award at CLC 27th Annual Conference on Professional Issues May 24 in Boston

ROCKVILLE, Md., May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Child Life Council, the leading nonprofit professional association serving child life specialists, announced the selection of Utica College as the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Service Award, in recognition of its outstanding contributions to child life programs everywhere.

Utica College was selected by the CLC Executive Board in recognition of the institution's outstanding financial and in-kind contributions, which have supported the housing and maintenance of the Child Life Council Historical Archives over the past seven years.

The Spirit of Giving award was created in 2007 to recognize organizations with a record of exceptional generosity through the donation of funds, goods, services or volunteer hours, whose support has expanded or contributed to the value of child life services.

Since forming an agreement with the Child Life Council in early 2002, Utica College has dedicated valuable library space, storage and other archival equipment to properly store the historical materials contributed by child life specialists from around the world. In addition to space and materials, the college has contributed employees' time and resources, offering CLC volunteers access to library and media services, as well as the support of a staff member to assist with grant writing for the archives.

"Utica College has been instrumental to our efforts to preserve the unique history of the child life profession," said CLC Executive Board President Janet Cross. "By promoting an active awareness of our shared history, Utica helps us to build a stronger future -- one that will continue to enrich the lives of children and families coping with stress and trauma for years to come."

"Utica College is honored to be selected for the CLC Spirit of Giving Award. The proud tradition of UC's psychology-child life program has been a hallmark of education excellence for many years and this accolade reinforces and enhances the program's prestige while recognizing the tireless efforts of UC's faculty, staff, distinguished alumni and students," said UC President Todd Hutton.

Child life specialists are experts in child development, who promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress.

Dr. Hutton will accept the award on behalf of Utica College during a special presentation at the Closing General Session of the CLC 27th Annual Conference, which will take place May 24 at The Westin Boston Waterfront. Some 900 child life professionals, educators and students are expected to attend the event. Utica College will also be featured in the Bulletin, the Child Life Council's quarterly newsletter, and on the CLC Web site at www.childlife.org.

About Child Life Council

The Child Life Council, Inc. is the leading membership association serving child life professionals as they empower children and families to master challenging life events. Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1982, Child Life Council provides members with professional development programs and resources, advances best practices, and distributes information about the needs of children experiencing stress and trauma. Membership is currently comprised of nearly 4,000 individuals representing more than 600 organizations worldwide. Our members include child life specialists, child life assistants, university educators and students, hospital administrators and staff, school teachers, therapeutic recreation specialists, and others in related fields. To learn more about Child Life Council and the child life profession, please visit our Web site at www.childlife.org.

About Utica College

Utica College is a comprehensive private institution offering bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The College, located in Upstate Central New York, enrolls some 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 37 undergraduate majors, 27 minors, 20 master's and two doctoral programs. For more information, visit our Web site at www.utica.edu.

Contact:

Genevieve Thomas, Manager of Communications & Marketing, (301) 881-7090 ext. 16, media@childlife.org

Christine Leogrande, Interim Director of Public Relations, Utica College, (315) 223-2519 cleogra@utica.edu

SOURCE Utica College

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category