Local Johnstown Resident Receives Blue-Ribbon Champion for Safe Kids Award

Harrisburg, PA – The Pa Family Support Alliance, the state’s leader in child abuse prevention, has awarded Lauren Lazzari with the Blue-Ribbon Champion for Safe Kids Award. This award is given to five Pennsylvanians who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support and protect Pennsylvania’s children.

Lazzari is a Parents as Teachers Educator at Beginnings, Inc. where she works with families to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to be the best parents and caregivers they can be. She serves as an in-home visitor and regularly teaches trainings on sexual abuse prevention. Lazzari works closely with families when abuse occurs and educates them on how to report suspected cases of abuse. She provides evidence-based and center-based family instruction. Over the last year, Lazzari has also completed training to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children.

Separate from her professional career, Lazzari is known throughout Johnstown as someone who is deeply committed to serving her community. She works at the local YMCA and helps plan the family-friendly Celebration Johnstown! – a widely attended event which bring together young and old to celebrate the New Year.

“Lauren was nominated and selected to receive this award out of a list of distinguished candidates because of her exemplary dedication and steadfast commitment to protecting Pennsylvania’s children,” said Angela Liddle, President and CEO of the Pa Family Support Alliance. “Today marks the first day of National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month, and we should all look to Lauren as a model of what it means to truly make a difference in the lives of children.” 

In honor of this accomplishment, the Pa Family Support Alliance is debuting a video on its Facebook page today which will feature Lazzari receiving the award. The video can be found here. Normally, the Pa Family Support Alliance hosts a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda in Harrisburg to honor its Blue-Ribbon Champion recipients. But, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the organization is sponsoring a virtual month-long awareness campaign to honor the Blue-Ribbon Champions and generate awareness about ways we can all work together to prevent and report child abuse.

As part of the month-long awareness campaign, the Pa Family Support Alliance will debut video messages and photos featuring the Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller and Deputy Secretary Jonathan Rubin, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Secretary of Education Noe Ortega, Second Lady Gisele Fetterman, State Senators Judy Ward and Maria Collett as well as State Representatives Sheryl Delozier and Pamela DeLissio. In Secretary Miller’s video she announced the Blue-Ribbon Champions and thanked Lazzari for all of her hard work. That video can be found on our website

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About Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance

Pa Family Support Alliance prevents child abuse and protects children from harm by helping parents learn positive parenting techniques, educating professionals and volunteers who work with children to recognize and report child abuse, and helping community members learn how they can play a positive role in keeping children safe. To learn more about our programs, schedule a training, or donate, please visit pa-fsa.org, or call 800-448-4906.

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