YWCA Metro St. Louis Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Bracy and Missouri Senator Caleb Rowden honored for work to improve children’s lives through health education and legislation
ST. LOUIS (March 4, 2019) – As the 2018 St. Louis Children’s Hospital Advocacy Award recipients, Adrian E. Bracy and Senator Caleb Rowden, are dedicated professionals who have committed to growing strong, healthy children in their city, state and region.
Chief Executive Officer for YWCA Metro St. Louis Adrian Bracy is a champion of children as she pursues the YWCA mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Programming she’s led includes Head Start, school-aged child care, programs for youth and teens, and other childhood development and health related services. Other services include a sexual assault support center, as well as speakers and seminars on racism.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s partnership with the YWCA has been long-standing and reciprocal – the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Healthy Kids Express program has served YWCA Head Start programs and just recently St. Louis Children’s Hospital began offering the YWCA’s Witnessing Whiteness program on the medical campus. These shared values and commitment to children make us natural collaborators.
Missouri Senator Caleb Rowden is the Majority Floor Leader in the Senate – a powerful position that determines what legislation is brought to the floor. Rowden has let his faith and his passion for serving others guide him while legislating.
Focusing on children, Sen. Rowden has championed legislation restricting electronic cigarettes to mirror age restrictions for tobacco products. He also is a supporter and sponsor of state earned income tax credits, which would provide credits toward income to boost the wages of working men and women who struggle to make ends meet. These earned income tax credits have been shown to improve the health and long-term economic prospects of those who qualify, and in Missouri, would affect nearly 600,000 children. He is also the sponsor of legislation to create a system for Social Innovation Grants in Missouri - a program the BJC system would like to see developed for projects supporting the families they serve.
Bracy and Senator Rowden are impacting Missouri and St. Louis children through their passion for community and health and we are greatly appreciative for their commitment and collaboration,” said Mark Shen, President of St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Established in 1994 by St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the Advocacy Award recognizes local and state leaders who leverage their positions, resources and influence to do what’s right for kids. Other recipients have included Dr. Art McCoy, Missouri State Senator Jill Schupp, Dr. Reverend Starsky Wilson, Missouri State Senator Eric Schmitt and Dr. Kelvin Adams.
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ST. LOUIS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
For more than 130 years, St. Louis Children's Hospital has provided exceptional care for children in all 50 states and 80 countries around the world. With its academic partner, Washington University School of Medicine, Children’s is consistently ranked among the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. A member of BJC HealthCare, St. Louis Children’s Hospital follows one simple mission – to do what’s right for kids. That mission comes to life through medical discovery, innovative therapies and compassionate care. In 2018, Children's expanded with a state-of-the-art, 12-story medical tower. Children’s relies on generous donors to deliver specialized care for families in need, extend health care services to the community, and pursue research that promises to transform pediatric medicine. To find out more, visit StLouisChildrens.org, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.