Students recognized for impacting lives of school children through Child's Hope program

Two students from UM-Dearborn and one from Henry Ford Community College recently shared their experiences about serving with the Child's Hope IMPACT Program during the organization's April 6 annual meeting, which included a ceremony honoring the Child Advocate of the Year, UM-Dearborn Prof. Mary Trepanier-Street.

Child's Hope, the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Out Wayne County, is a non-profit agency housed in UM-Dearborn's School of Education. Its mission is to protect children from pain and suffering of abuse and neglect.

Bethany Boik and Erick Rossi De La Fuente of UM-Dearborn, and Richard Aubrey of HFCC, offered a unique perspective on Child's Hope with their stories.

The IMPACT Program is supported by AmeriCorps and UM-Dearborn. Rossi De La Fuente serves as the Health Team captain, and spoke about the IMPACT Health initiative, one of the two new initiatives Child's Hope has established this year.

Rossi De La Fuente follows the National Kidney Foundation's Regie Rainbow program when conducting his classroom lessons; pairing each day of the week with a color and healthy fruit and vegetable. The children then hear stories about Regie, a super hero in broccoli form as he works to eat healthy and stay active.

Boik spoke about the IMPACT literacy initiative that pairs college students with at-risk preschool and kindergarten children in Wayne County. She explained that each week individualized lesson plans are created, geared toward each partner child's specific needs. Each lesson plan includes a core story book and early literacy activities to help prepare children for the next grade level.

Structured in a similar way as the health team, the IMPACT Prevention initiative strives to increase awareness of sexual abuse through My Body is Mine trainings. Aubrey leads the team and implemented 41 trainings this program year, teaching more than 630 children the difference between good and bad touch through song and dance. This non-threatening training gives children a voice against abuse and neglect.