Child Advocacy Newsletter

February 2025

Dear Staci,

Child Advocacy has so many wonderful events coming up - please take a moment to add our upcoming trainings, meetings, and fundraisers to your calendar! If you have questions or want to learn more please do not hesitate to reach out to us at (989)463-1422!

We are also accepting nominations (see information and links below) for our Audra Stahl Child Advocate of the Year and Child Advocate Organization of the Year Awards. If you have someone you would like to nominate please complete the nomination form using the links provided. If you would like to see past recipients, they can be found here -https://childadvocacy.net/advocate-award-winners/.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter,

Staci Bigelow

Volunteer/Event Coordinator

Check out our website www.childadvocacy.net.

2025 Nomination forms are Live! We have begun accepting nomination forms for our Audra Stahl Child Advocate of the Year and Child Advocate Organization of the Year Awards!

Do you know an individual or organization in Gratiot County going above and beyond for children and families? Please tell us about their great works and submit a nomination form if you feel they would be a great candidate for one of our awards!

Awards will be presented at our Child Advocacy Banquet on May 21, 2025 and nominations will be accepted until March 15, 2025.

Please submit your nominations using the links below -

Audra Stahl Child Advocate of the Year Award nomination link - https://forms.gle/7GFkzexKsMmU6z2B9

Child Advocate Organization of the Year Award nomination link - https://forms.gle/hVTCSC1ZDmDp9bvS7

Upcoming Events

Child Advocacy Lunch & Learn

Thursday, February 6, 2025

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Lunch & Learns are held every other month on the first Thursday of the month at Child Advocacy. Please see the flyer below for more information.

Gratiot County Substance and Suicide Prevention Coalition Meeting

Monday, February 10, 2025

1:00 p.m.

If interested in attending or for more information please email Emily at emily@childadvocacy.net.

Survivors Of Suicide Group

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

7:00 p.m.

Please see the flyer below for more information or email Emily at emily@childadvocacy.net.

Gratiot County Breastfeeding Coalition

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

4:00 p.m.

If interested in attending or for more information please contact Amanda at amanda@childadvocacy.net.

Child Abuse and Neglect Council Advisory Committee

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Please contact Darby at darby@childadvocacy.net for more information.

For more information on upcoming events and trainings please see detailed flyers below or visit our website at www.ChildAdvocacy.net

Child Advocacy is a non-profit agency with a mission to promote, support, and strengthen the well-being of our community.

Our Staff

Jennifer Stambaugh

President & CEO

jennifer@childadvocacy.net

Pam Scherzer

Office Manager

pam@childadvocacy.net

Staci Bigelow

Event & Volunteer Coordinator

staci@childadvocacy.net

Emily Rayburn

GCSSPP Director

emily@childadvocacy.net

Sara Krebs

GCSSPP Prevention Coordinator

sara@childadvocacy.net

Rachel Molands

GCSSPP Prevention Educator

rachel@childadvocacy.net

Rachael Wakley GCSSPP Support Specialist rachael@childadvocacy.net

Richelle Davis

CAN Prevention Educator

richelle@childadvocacy.net

Ashley Tupper

CAN Family Resource Coordinator

ashley@childadvocacy.net

Amanda Siddall

Breastfeeding Coalition Coordinator

amanda@childadvocacy.net

Michelle Zombeck

CASA Program Director

michelle@childadvocacy.net

Darby Chaffin

CAC Program Director

darby@childadvocacy.net

Tiffany LaBlance

CAC Victim Advocate

tiffany@childadvocacy.net

Mandi Luft

CAC Case Manager

mandi@childadvocacy.net

Sobering Truth

Rachel Molands

GCSSPP Prevention Educator

The US Surgeon General’s Advisory is a public statement that calls the American people’s attention to an urgent public health issue. Starting out in 2025, the advisory issued a statement that may be shocking to many: alcohol consumption is a leading preventable cause of cancer.

Alcohol use is common throughout the United States- 72% of U.S. adults report consuming one ore more drinks per week and fewer than half are aware of the relationship between alcohol use and cancer. In 2019, 96,730 cancer cases were related to alcohol consumption with the majority of those involving women…this translates to nearly 1 million preventable cancer cases over the past 10 years!

Empowering ourselves with this knowledge provides an opportunity for us to have conversations with our youth about alcohol use and the risk that it can have for our bodies. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has put together 5 goals for parents when talking to kids about alcohol and other drugs.

1. Show you disapprove of underage drinking and drug misuse.

2. Show you care about your child’s health, wellness, and success.

3. Show you’re a good source of information about alcohol and other drugs.

4. Show you’re paying attention and you’ll discourage risky behaviors.

5. Build your child’s skills and strategies for avoiding underage drinking and drug use.

For more information about how to have conversations with youth about alcohol and drug use, check out the Gratiot County Substance and Suicide Prevention Program’s website: www.gratiotdrugfree.org

Resources:

https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/prevention/talk-they-hear-you/parent-resources

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/oash-alcohol-cancer-risk.pdf

https://www.gratiotdrugfree.org/parent-resources.html

Children's Advocacy Center Welcomes New Victim Advocate

Tiffany grew up in Owosso, Michigan and graduated from Owosso High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in Elementary Education. Tiffany started calling Gratiot County her home when she and her husband moved to Saint Louis in 2008. Tiffany has spent the last 17 years in the education field. She has always had a passion for helping children and their families and felt that this role would be a perfect fit for her. In her role she greets families upon arrival to the CAC, explains the forensic interview process, and ensures families are connected to any resources and referrals they may need. She is a support person to children and their caregivers after their initial visit to the CAC and acts as a liaison between families and service providers, based on the family’s needs. In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her husband, son and 3 dogs. You can find her camping in the summer and always cheering on the Detroit Tigers and Michigan State Spartans!

Greetings,

I would like to take a moment to congratulate Heather Therrien, our Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) and Child Abuse Neglect Prevention (CAN) Program Director, on her retirement effective February 1st. Heather has provided unwavering leadership and guidance to our CAC since 2016 and took over direction for our CAN Program last summer. Heather was integral in securing critical grant funding to ensure program continuation and expansion and has helped to set the foundation for the programming that is currently in place in the CAC and the CAN programs. Under her leadership, 1369 Child Forensic Interviews were conducted to ensure protection for children in our community. Thank you, Heather, for your commitment to Child Advocacy over the past nine years. Although Heather will be missed, we feel secure in knowing that she has set a solid foundation for our new CAC and CAN Program Director, Darby Chaffin, to build on.

Darby has been working in the Children’s Advocacy Center Program since 2023 as the Victim Advocate. Prior to coming to Child Advocacy, she spent 18 years working at a non-profit Community Action Agency, providing educational and family services to residents in the Mid-Michigan area. Darby has a passion for helping others and we are excited to see her expand her leadership in her new role.

Our last change in the CAC (as noted in the section above), is the addition of our new Victim Advocate, Tiffany LaBlance. Tiffany comes to the CAC with 17 years of service in the education field. Tiffany began her journey with the CAC at the start of this year and is already settling in and beginning her support of families. I hope you will join me in welcoming Tiffany to the CAC Program!

As always, we appreciate your support and hope you will continue to stay up to date with our current offerings by following us on Facebook: Child Advocacy-Gratiot County.

Jennifer Stambaugh

President & CEO

Child Advocacy Flyers