BY ASHLEY TILLERY, Director of Development and Community Outreach
Exchange/SCAN, a local child abuse prevention agency in Winston-Salem, has the same vision but a new name: Parenting PATH (Positive Actions, Thriving Homes).
Staff and board members at Exchange/SCAN didn’t think the organization’s name clearly communicated what role the non-profit played in the local community. “A county official once said to me that our name sounded like someplace where we ‘scanned your groceries,’” said Karen Flynt, the Welcome Baby Director and long-time employee at Exchange/SCAN. The organization’s name seemed confusing and outdated, with the impression that SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) only provided services for those parents who abused their children. Many local parents and caregivers had no idea that the agency, founded in 1981 with support from the Winston-Salem Exchange Club, provided parenting classes, home visitation for new parents and support for positive parent-child interactions.
Through a partnership with Leadership Winston-Salem, the agency began exploring options for a new name. Each year Leadership Winston-Salem invites members of the local non-profit community to submit an application highlighting a real dilemma, issue or opportunity that could benefit from the evaluation and work of an Action Learning team of eight community leaders currently participating in the Leadership Winston-Salem Flagship Program. The team met with Executive Director Elizabeth Miller, evaluated the services offered by the agency, and decided that a new name would benefit the local non-profit.
Members of the Leadership Winston-Salem considered criteria for the new name, solicited feedback from the board and staff members, and created an action plan for the name change. “We are just thrilled with the partnership with Leadership Winston-Salem and the Action Learning Team,” said Miller. “Parenting PATH has a long history of strengthening families, supporting positive parent-child interactions and preventing and treating child abuse. We so excited that our new name aligns with our vision of building great childhoods for all children.” Over the next few months, Parenting PATH will work closely with the Leadership Winston-Salem Action Learning team to roll out the new brand and transition to the new name as staff and board members excitedly plan for the future.
Parenting PATH offers programs designed to support local families that range from parenting classes, Welcome Baby (an in-home visitation program for new parents), respite care, crisis intervention, fatherhood education, supervised visitation, parent/teen counseling, and a 24-hour caregiver hotline. All programs are evidence-based and focus on building on skills and strengths already present in families. “Our agency recognizes that caring for children is a challenging proposition, even in the best of circumstances,” said Miller. “There may be periods of stress, grief, frustration, and isolation. We want parents and caregivers to know that it is normal to feel this way and that they are not alone. Parenting PATH is here to help.”
To celebrate the agency’s new name and to commemorate April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, Parenting PATH will host several local events, culminating with the annual Pinwheel Gala on Friday, April 13th at 6 pm. The Pinwheel Gala, at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, will include dinner, drinks, entertainment and a silent auction featuring unique items from Forsyth County businesses. Tickets are $60 and all proceeds fund programs for local families. For tickets, please visit our website at exchangescan.org or call 336-748-9028. Other April Parenting PATH events include a showing of “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” at A/perture on Tuesday, April 3rd at 6:30 pm, a Charity Ride with CycleBar on Saturday, April 7th at 12:00 pm and a Strike Out Child Abuse Baseball game hosted with Wake Forest Baseball on Saturday, April 7th at 4:00 pm.
Parenting Path is located at 500 W. Northwest Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC, 27105. For more information on April events or services offered by Parenting PATH, please visit the agency’s website at parentingpath.org or contact Elizabeth Miller, Executive Director at 336-748-9028 or elizabeth.miller@parentingpath.org.
