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WHEREAS, Cribs for Kids is a National Safe Sleep Initiative started in Pittsburgh in 1998 by Judy Bannon, its first Executive Director, District Attorney Steven Zappala, the late Mayor Bob O'Connor and the last Commander Gwenn Elliot to promote the mission to provide cribs to babies whose mothers could not afford them and to educate mothers about the dangers of unsafe sleep environments. This initiative began when Judy Bannon, then Executive Director of Sudden Infant Death Services of PA, realized that the factors around sudden infant death revolved around unsafe sleep practices and lack of information on safe sleep for infants; and,
WHEREAS, growing Cribs for Kids from a local project to a national initiative with a world-wide narrative, Judy Bannon has made safe sleep a reality for thousands of infants each year. With over 750 partners across the country as part of the coalition, Cribs for Kids under Judy Bannon's direction has grown into a $6.4 million dollar non-profit operation with 450,000 cribs distributed nationwide; and,
WHEREAS, born and raised in Clairton, Pa, educated at Penn State University, Judy worked for Ryan Homes and United Cerebral Palsy before her relationship with SIDS of PA and the founding of Crib for Kids became her life's work. She is the wife of Dr. Richard Bannon, the mother of three children, Sean, Kelly and Jenny and grandmother to Jack and Millie; and,
WHEREAS, the groundbreaking work of Cribs for Kids involves initiatives spearheaded by Judy Bannon to save children's lives and includes a Hospital Certification Program, a Safe Sleep Ambassador Program, billboard campaigns, and the passage of PA Act 73 of 2010 that mandates that every mother giving birth in Pennsylvania receive infant safe sleep education before leaving the hospital; and,
WHEREAS, Judy Bannon has been the recipient of many prestigious awards for her work and this year, at the 5th Annual Cribs for Kids Conference in April, Judy will re-release her memoir, F...
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