Innaugural Annual Meeting to Feature Former Ohio Governor Dick Celeste

Canton, OH – Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio (PPNEO) will celebrate its inaugural annual meeting on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at the Cultural Center for the Arts, 1001 Market Avenue North, Canton OH 44702. The program begins at 5:30.

Former Governor of Ohio Richard Celeste will give the keynote address. Mr. Celeste is currently the President of Colorado College. A Rhodes Scholar and a graduate of Yale, Mr. Celeste has been a long-time champion for family planning both in Ohio and India. While governor in 1984, he created a distinct line item in the state budget for family planning programs in Ohio – the first time for such a designation. His distinguished career in the public sector includes serving as the director of the United States Peace Corps, and as United States Ambassador to India, making him an excellent choice to speak at an event launching the Bonnie Bolitho Global Partners Fund.

Bonnie Bolitho is the Vice President of Relationship Management and Supporter Development at PPNEO and the former Executive Director of Planned Parenthood of Stark County (PPSC). In 2001, under Bonnie Bolitho’s visionary leadership, PPSC became a Global Partner with the Tata Steel Family Initiatives Foundation in Jamshedpur, India. The partnership grew to include Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland, the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), the Timken Foundation of Canton, and Timken India. Over the past six years, there have been seven exchange visits between Canton/Cleveland and Jamshedpur. In 2006, Planned Parenthood used Global Partner funds to launch FPAI’s Maternal and Child Health project, which aims to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates and promote birth spacing.

During the course of Planned Parenthood’s involvement, funding from the Timken Foundation and private fundraising has allowed us to provide:

• A mobile clinic (for prenatal, antenatal, and postnatal care in rural areas
• “Safe delivery kits” to promote safe childbirth and training of traditional birth attendants
• “Guerilla” education about healthy sexuality (puppet shows, video shows, etc.)
• Case management (tracking all pregnant women and children until the age of two to ensure healthy habits and appropriate medical intervention)
• Nutrition/home health (educating women bout the use of smokeless ovens and kitchen gardens)

These projects are reaching 100,000 women and children in Jamshedpur and 80-90 surrounding villages as well as urban slums.

To honor Ms. Bolitho’s passion for international family planning, PPNEO has created the Bonnie Bolitho Global Partners Fund, which will provide substantial ongoing support for the FPAI Maternal and Child health project or similar projects in India or other developing countries.

Also honored at the annual meeting will be Paul Burstadt of Rocky River, who will receive the Ellery and Elizabeth Sedgwick Award for his exceptional commitment to Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio. In 2007 alone, Mr. Burstadt volunteered more than 100 hours a month to PPNEO in the area of information technology. Staff member Regan Clawson, of Lakewood, will be honored with the Martha D. Nelson, MD Outstanding Service Award, for her tremendous service and dedication to the values of PPNEO.

For more information about the meeting, please contact Julie Ransom-Chaney, 330-535-2674 ext 130.

Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio is a recent consolidation of Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland, Planned Parenthood of North Central Ohio, Planned Parenthood of Stark County, Planned Parenthood of Summit, Portage and Medina Counties, and Planned Parenthood of the Mahoning Valley. We provide essential reproductive health care services to more than 50,000 women and men in our local Northeast Ohio communities. We serve as a leader in breast and cervical cancer screening and prevention, as well as prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted disease. We supply medically accurate sexuality education to thousands of young people and their parents.

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