December 6, 2001
Trenton,
NJ — Today, Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto presented a $10,000
check to Francine Kowalczyk, executive director of the Mercer County Bar
Foundation (MCBF), for use in partially funding the KITES annual conference.
KITES,
Kids Instructed in Tolerance through Education and Support, is a mini-grant
program funded by the Mercer County Bar Foundation and its donors, and
administered by the MCBF with the assistance of the United Way of Greater Mercer
County. KITES is dedicated to
promoting the efforts of parents, juvenile justice officers, clergy, educators,
counselors and peers to help children learn to deal with and resolve the
conflict which arises in everyday life and to rise above the pressures,
loneliness and anger which sometimes lead to violence.
“We
enthusiastically support the KITES mission of conflict resolution,” Prosecutor
Giaquinto stated. “These types of
programs, aimed at our youth, are meant to lead to violence reduction in the
future.”
KITES
is an ongoing program and benefit to the community year-round.
It was launched in October 1999 with the First Annual KITES Conference.
This year’s third annual conference was held on October 29th
and focused on making ethical decisions in a complex world and making
connections in an increasingly technological and isolating world.
The KITES program offers anyone who works with school-age children an opportunity to attend the conference. This year’s workshops, Making Ethical Decisions in a Complex World, Connecting with the Vulnerable Child, Isolation, Technology and Our Children and Gangs – Filling the Void, focused on teaching participants how to identify and connect with the invisible child.
Pictured from left to right are Martha Thill, bar foundation trustee; Barry Szaferman, bar foundation president; Francine Kowalczyk, bar association executive director; Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto; Lynn McDougall, bar foundation trustee; and Catherine Fitzpatrick, bar association president-elect.