Thanks for Helping Make our 2011 Annual Luncheon a BIG Success!
Despite Colorado’s first snowstorm of the year and multiple road closures as a result of President Obama’s visit to Denver, almost 700 Children’s Campaign partners and friends joined us at our 2011 Annual Luncheon on Wednesday, October 26 for a discussion on the links between childhood hunger, obesity and poverty. Between 2000 and 2009 the number of children living in poverty in Colorado more than doubled, rising faster here than in any other state in the nation. During this same time, Colorado experienced rapid growth in its childhood overweight and obesity rate and in the number of children living in households that were food insecure, meaning their households experienced uncertainty as to whether they could provide enough food for all family members.
To help raise awareness about these critical issues, nationally renowned experts Bill Shore and Angela Glover Blackwell participated in a discussion moderated by Children’s Hospital Colorado pediatrician and professor of pediatrics, Dr. Steve Berman. Shore and Blackwell discussed how hunger and obesity, while not always intuitively linked, are in fact both driven by a lack of resources and options and reminded us that, with the political will to do so, we can create a healthier, brighter future for all children.
In addition to the panelists, Governor John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Children’s Hospital Colorado’s President and CEO Jim Shmerling, Children’s Campaign Board Chair Lee Reichert and Children’s Campaign President and CEO Chris Watney addressed the audience and 9News co-anchor Kim Christiansen served as the master of ceremonies. The luncheon also marked the debut of this short documentary produced by internationally-acclaimed documentarian Alexandre Philippe. The film features children who received meals this summer from the Lunchbox Express, a repurposed mini school bus that delivered lunches to students across Englewood.
Many thanks to all those who joined us at our luncheon. The luncheon not only provides an opportunity to focus on a topic of importance to child well-being, but also raises critical funds for the Children’s Campaign to continue our work on behalf of kids.
Visit our Facebook page for more pictures from the luncheon.
2011 Featured Speakers
Bill Shore - Nationally-recognized expert on childhood hunger
For more than a decade, Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength, has been working to end hunger. He first focused efforts in developing countries. Seeing the issue of hunger grow to epic proportions in the United States, he was moved to bring the fight home. In 2010, he partnered with actor Jeff Bridges to create the No Kid Hungry Campaign.
Bill Shore has received many awards, and was named in America’s Best Leaders by US News and World Report. He is the author of four books focused on social change, including The Cathedral Within. His most recent book, The Imaginations of Unreasonable Men, is the story of social entrepreneurs who “possess great imagination plus the indomitable, never-say-die spirit necessary to achieve what heretofore had been unattainable.”
Angela Glover Blackwell - Nationally-recognized leader for social justice and equity
As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PolicyLink, Angela Glover Blackwell is a national leader for social justice and has worked tirelessly to create stronger low-income communities. Blackwell has pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization and serves as the National Advisory Chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. Among her accomplishments, she has raised awareness of “food deserts,” communities that lack grocery stores or healthy food access.
Blackwell appears regularly on ABC’s Nightline and PBS’s Now. She was also a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Blackwell has written several books and contributed to Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream.
A History of Compelling Speakers
The Colorado Children's Campaign Annual Luncheon has garnered a reputation as one of the most engaging events of the year for those who care about kids. Past speakers have included Erin Gruwell, the California teacher whose story of her experience with her class was made into a major motion picture; Marc Brown, the author of the "Arthur" series of children's books; Geoffrey Canada, President & CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone; and Marian Wright Edelman, one of our nation's most visionary leaders and staunchest child advocates.
Most recently in 2010, nearly 850 business and community leaders, legislators, child advocates and parents attended the sold-out event to hear from Davis Guggenheim, an Academy Award-winning director and creator of the acclaimed documentary highlighting the education crisis in America, WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN."
