Celebrating Connection at the 2024 Mayerson Child Well-being Initiative Gathering
The Mayerson Child Well-being Initiative (MCWI) held its annual large gathering on July 24th at the Frisch's Theater at the Cincinnati Zoo. This year's theme, "Thriving Through Connections," showcased how social connections play a vital role in nurturing child and youth well-being.
Launched in 2022, MCWI has focused on understanding and measuring child and youth well-being, aiming to infuse these measures into various initiatives to advance collective knowledge. The initiative's ultimate goal is to see the widespread implementation of positively framed, strengths-based, child- and family-centered interventions, encouraging positive engagement from children, youth, and families.
The event highlighted various community performances that celebrated how connections inspire and elevate our well-being:
Gloria Esenwein entertained the audience with an engaging fusion of tap dancing and call-and-response.
Camille Jones from Elementz Hip Hop Cultural Arts Center performed a captivating hip-hop dance solo.
Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Scholars presented a video on the significance of social connections.
Zee Pittman-Carter delivered a powerful spoken word performance titled “Rooted.”
“DeeJay” De’Ariss Hope kept the attendees so lively during the entire gathering that his choice of music even inspired an impromptu line dance after lunch!
The large gathering also had some key presentations and discussions including:
Jermil Tarver from Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services discussed the impact of kinship care and how everyone can contribute to making a difference in the lives of children in kinship care.
Jabari Wright from Forever Kings, Latisha Owens from Guiding Light Mentoring, Kim Brewster from The Health-Connection, and Princeton “PJ” Roberson, a former mentee, formed a panel to share their insights and experiences on the importance of mentorship in fostering youth well-being.
As MCWI continues to grow, the hope is to see increasing testing and implementation of strengths-based, child- and family-centered interventions across various settings. This year’s gathering demonstrated the power of social connections in promoting well-being and inspired all attendees to foster and celebrate these connections in their communities.
For more information about MCW and their mission to enhance child and youth well-being, visit their website at MCWI.org.