Patrick Losinski Named 2012 Champion of Children; Action for Children Named First Ever 2012 Champion of Children Nonprofit Organization
Losinski and Action for Children will be honored at the 19th Annual Champion of Children Signature Event to be held on February 7, 2012 at COSI
Patrick Losinski, Executive Director of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, has been named the 2012 Champion of Children. Losinski joins a distinguished group of local leaders who have been recognized as Champions of Children and have made a deep, far-reaching impact on the lives of children in central Ohio.
“Pat has made developing young minds a top priority at the Columbus Metropolitan Library,” said Elfi Di Bella, president and CEO of YWCA Columbus, and chair of the Champion of Children Selection Committee. “Through his leadership he has inspired innovation in his team and broad support in our community. He truly understands the crucial mission of the library to promote early learning and help children succeed, and proves every day that he is a Champion of Children."
Under Losinski's visionary leadership, the Columbus Metropolitan Library has launched and expanded initiatives focused on helping children learn and succeed, including:
- Ready to Read Corps which helps young learners from birth to age 5 build skills that prepare them for kindergarten. Workshops are conducted throughout Columbus and show caregivers how to incorporate literacy activities into a family's everyday life.
- Raising Readers which visits the homes of child care providers and engages children in learning activities.
- Homework Help Centers, and Story Time at the library, including "Baby Lap Time" for infants.
- The largest Summer Reading Club in the United States with more than 97,000 participants.
Losinski's emphasis on developing young minds and the innovative ways his team has pursued this goal has earned the Columbus Metropolitan Library well-deserved praise from within our community and across the country -- winning numerous awards and being named the number one library in the United States.
This year Champion of Children also named the first ever Champion of Children Nonprofit Organization. The award went to Action for Children, central Ohio's resource and referral agency for child care and early learning programs and services, for the leadership role the organization and its long-time CEO Diane Bennett have played over its 40-year history in promoting high-quality early education. Each year, more than 9,000 parents turn to Action for Children when they need child care and early learning programs for their children, and more than 11,000 professional caregivers and educators use its resources for training or technical assistance that supports continuous quality improvement.
"Action for Children embodies every quality we sought in our first Champion of Children Nonprofit Organization," said Linda Kass, Champion of Children founder and chair of the Advisory Committee. "The organization has pioneered innovative ways to help children learn, and caregivers and educators teach effectively. Generations of students in central Ohio have benefited tremendously from the work of Action for Children and we are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of professionals as champions for all of our children."
The Champion of Children Nonprofit Organization recognition includes a $5,000 award generously donated by Chase that will help Action for Children further its mission.
Losinski and Action for Children will be honored at the 19th Annual Champion of Children Signature Event to be held at 5:30 p.m. on February 7, 2012 at COSI. The event will include an award ceremony and a televised panel dialogue moderated by former WOSU “Open Line” host Fred Andrle. This panel will discuss a new report to the community on the state of education in central Ohio.
Support for the Signature Event and Champion of Children's year round activities is provided by Champion Partners: American Electric Power, Battelle, Chase, Nationwide, PNC; Supporting Partners: The Columbus Foundation, Limited Brands Foundation; and Media Partners: Big Red Rooster, Business First, Mills James Productions and WOSU Public Media.
To learn more about Champion of Children and register for the Signature event, please go to www.liveunitedcentralohio.org/champion-of-children.
Champion of Children Nonprofit Organization
- 2012 - Action for Children
Champions of Children
- 2012 - Patrick Losinski, Executive Director of the Columbus Metropolitan Library
- 2011 - John E. Bickley, President and CEO, YMCA of Central Ohio
- 2010 - E. Gordon Gee, President of The Ohio State University
- 2009 - Ann Pizzuti, community volunteer and former chair of United Way of Central Ohio
- 2008 - Dr. David Andrews, former Dean, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University
- 2007 - Bill Dolan, former Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hunger Alliance
- 2006 - Dr. Gary Smith, Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy, Children’s Hospital
- 2005 - Dr. Gene Harris, Superintendent, Columbus City Schools
- 2004 - Thekla Shackelford, founding member and chairman, I KNOW I CAN
- 2003 - Tanny Crane, CEO and president, Crane Plastics Co. and community volunteer
- 2002 - Catherine Willis, community activist and a founder of Friends of Art for Community Enrichment (FACE)
- 2001 - David Schirner, vice president and camp director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio
- 2000 - Yvette McGee Brown, former Franklin County lead juvenile judge, president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy, Children’s Hospital
- 1999 - Sara Neikirk, executive director, Communities in Schools (retired)
- 1998 - Mark Real, founder and former director of Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio, now president and CEO of KidsOhio.org
- 1997 - Dr. Antoinette Parisi Eaton, noted pediatrician and Corporate Director of Governmental Affairs for Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- 1996 - Mary Lazarus, community volunteer, child advocate and policy advisor
- 1995 - Cecilia Cullman, co-founder of Action for Children
- 1994 - Dr. Leslie Bostic, founding director of the Buckeye Ranch
