Symposium for the Hannah Neil World of Children December 6, 2001

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Children's Symposium Held In Columbus 2001 World of Children Symposium held at Fawcett Center in Columbus, Ohio
By Dave Weissman Columbus Wired As a prelude to the awards presentation for the Kellogg's Hannah Neil World of Children Awards on Friday, December 7, 2001, the Hannah Neil Center for Children and Starr Commonwealth led the 2001 World of Children Symposium to discuss the plights and ways to help children in today's society.	Columbus First Lady Frankie Coleman (left) with Nathaniel Taylor.

The First Lady of Columbus, Frankie Coleman, opened the symposium with some remarks. She stated that her husband, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, would be leaving an Atlanta Mayor's meeting early in order to return in time for the event and that Honorary chairman, three-time Heavyweight Champion, Mohammad Ali, would be flying in from his home in Michigan.

Mrs. Coleman took time to thank all of the people who work hard to make this a better place to live. "Thank you for all the time, the effort and endless battles and that you can continue to make things better for the children on this earth," she said.

After the brief remarks by Mrs. Coleman, the attendees were able to choose from a number of breakout sessions. The 100 or so in attendance were treated to a number of smaller group sessions, including the Ohio Reads Program, Caring for Ohio's Children, Circle of Courage, Healing Racism and Spirituality in Quilting.

Dr. Marty Mitchell of Starr Commonwealth discusses "No Disposable Kids" with the audience.

Starr Commonwealth, recognized both nationally and abroad as a leader in the field of child and family services, hosted "No Disposable Kids", which is a powerful training program designed around the fact that all children should succeed, not be bullied and tormented and that a positive approach is the best approach.

Their presentation included a stirring story, first aired on ABC's 20/20 in 2000. The piece talked about Elizabeth Bush, who shot and possibly permanently injured a fellow classmate. She brought her father's gun to school and in a depressed state, accidentally shot Kimberly McKenzie. It was told that years of taunting and verbal abuse eventually led to Elizabeth's downfall and actions.

"Children truly have tremendous strengths and capabilities," said Starr Commonwealth's Dr. Martin Mitchell. "Our belief is that a child will not achieve the highest performance until you create a positive atmosphere and environment,"

'Spirituality in Quilting' was one of the break out sessions.

We can all look to the good that these people are doing and the sacrifices they make to help open our eyes to the plight of today's children in a few ways to build their character and self esteem.

Be sure to tune into the event, December 7th at 8:00 P.M. live on ONN to see this year's Honorees and the Award winner, who will receive the $100,000 prize from Ali.

Attendees discussed Caring for Ohio's Children with Penny Wyman (left) and Michelle Haskins.

Andy Nowlin and Constance Johnson lead the discussion entitled, "Healing Racism"