Each year, AAPA members support the Host City Prevention Campaign (HCPC), a philanthropic project in the host city of AAPA's annual conference. The purposes of this activity are to show support for the host city and to encourage philanthropy within the PA profession. PA campaign efforts have focused on worthwhile causes such as end-of-life decision making, breast cancer awareness, organ transplants, violence prevention, asthma and inner city children, childhood immunization, teenage suicide prevention and mental health, Habitat for Humanity, prevention of childhood obesity, free clinics, and health literacy.
This year's theme is Literacy, and with this in mind, the chosen Host City Prevention Campaign project is The Children's Shelter in San Antonio, Texas. It is a 501 c (3) non profit organization and has been providing services to San Antonio and Bexar County since 1901. In fiscal year 2006-07 it provided service to over 2,000 children through various programs.
In addition, funds are provided to other organizations that offer programs focused on literacy. Click here for an application form.
The Children's Shelter, San Antonio, Texas
The mission of The Children's Shelter is to "strengthen our community by providing safety, well-being and lasting families for children." To fulfill its mission, The Children's Shelter offers a continuum of care including emergency shelters, foster care, adoption, residential treatment care, teen parenting and abuse prevention programs and Girls Incorporated curriculum. Its core values are respect, compassion, optimism, integrity, team spirit and excellence.
All children in the shelter have an opportunity to read and continue reading. Each shelter has a library that children can access upon demand and at regular times during their school time and play time. Volunteers read with and to the children and when each child leaves they are allowed to select two new books from the library in the shelter to take with them. For many, these books are the only ones that they have ever owned. Attrition from children leaving and selecting books to take with them (approximately 1000 children per year x two books/child), new titles being published, additional Spanish titles and a desire to make a difference with a good age-appropriate selection of books are all of the reasons that the Host City Prevention Campaign grant will assist in uplifting their current selections in this ongoing program to increase a child's literacy.
To support our HCPC charity, The Children's Shelter, we invite you to bring a new book by our PA Foundation booth at conference; we will donate these books directly to The Children's Shelter. Here is a link to the list of books specifically requested by the shelter: List of Books.