ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
Following the release of sobering statistics about youth in the Roanoke Valley, representatives of several agencies and organizations are trying to arouse local interest in a national march in Washington for children.
The groups - including Roanoke Valley Alliance for Children, Council of Community Services and Total Action Against Poverty - are organizing a delegation to attend "Stand for Children" June 1 at Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
The event is the brainchild of Marian Wright Edelman, president of the national Children's Defense Fund. It is being billed as a day dedicated to the concerns of children - a day to "take a stand for children."
"For us, in the state of Virginia, this is really good timing," said Virginia Hardin, who heads Roanoke Valley Alliance for Children. "We've been trying to come out from under the last several years of having [children's issues] as lower priority, fundingwise. We don't really have the feeling that a whole lot of progress has been made."
Hardin said the timing of the event is good for Virginians with the release last month of "Kids Count" - a first-time statistical report on the condition of the state's 1.5 million children.
"The next step is standing up for children, keeping in mind that the greatest number of resources need to go for the future of the city, the area and the state," she said.
"Kids Count" statistics showed that children in the Roanoke and New River valleys generally are faring better than those in other Virginia localities. The exception was Roanoke, where more families live below the poverty level, more families are headed by single women, and more teens are having babies than in the rest of state as a whole.
The report "really highlighted where some of the trends are in terms of progress and where we are falling behind," said Hardin, who added that the alliance's steering committee is developing a regional plan to address issues raised in the report.
The two-hour "Stand for Children" event will be Saturday, June 1. The group organizing the Roanoke-area delegation is working to arrange bus transportation. There likely will be a small fee, said Pam Kestner-Chappelear, associate executive director of Council of Community Services.
For information on the Roanoke delegation, call Council of Community Services' information referral service at (540) 982-2345. For information on "Stand for Children," call (800) 233-1200 or (202) 234-0095 or send an e-mail to "standinfo@mailback.com".
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB