Kip Palmer Honored as 2010 Champion for Children

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK- March 10, 2011

Kip Palmer, President & CEO, Palmer Food Services was honored with Bivona Child Advocacy Center’s 2010 “Champion for Children” Award. The award was presented to Palmer at Bivona’s signature fund-raiser, Open That Bottle Night, which was held Saturday, February 26, 2011 at Locust Hill Country Club. Bivona Child Advocacy Center’s Champion for Children Award is given annually to an exceptional individual whose community support and volunteer activities demonstrate selfless dedication to the organization.

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Through Palmer’s leadership, Palmer Food Services championed the cause to support our community’s children through its support of Bivona Child Advocacy Center eight years ago, two years before Bivona opened its doors on August 1, 2004. Palmer Food Services began its support as the top corporate sponsor of Bivona’s golf tournament in 2004 and 2005. Upon the creation of Open That Bottle Night in 2006, Palmer Food Services has been the top corporate sponsor each and every year. Palmer has also encouraged members of his sales team to solicit donations from various restaurants for use as auction items for OTBN, which has helped the overall success of the event.

“Give until it feels good”, said Kip Palmer, addressing a crowd of 350 people at Saturday’s Open That Bottle Night. Recounting advice that was once given to him – which he feels strongly about and lives up to today - Palmer also stated, “Be significant to few as opposed to insignificant to many” when supporting a charity. Palmer’s significance has been felt tremendously over the years to the thousands of children served at Bivona Child Advocacy Center.

With Palmers’ support, Bivona Child Advocacy Center’s Open That Bottle Night has raised $950,000 in just six years. The funding allows every child in Greater Rochester that has been sexually or physically abused access to Bivona’s comprehensive services and resources, and providing them a path to healing. Since opening, Bivona Child Advocacy Center has evaluated and provided services to more than 6,500 children; 1,500 of which were evaluated in 2010 alone.

"I am very pleased that Kip has been selected as our 2010 Champion for Children recipient,” said Mary Whittier, Bivona Child Advocacy Center Executive Director, “Kip’s leadership, dedication and generosity has made a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of abused children in our community. I am incredibly proud to have the support of Kip and the entire Palmer Food Services team, and I congratulate Kip on this most deserved honor," she added.

Bivona Child Advocacy Center relies heavily on the support of the community, through the generosity of individuals and businesses. Palmer Food Services, the oldest family-owned and operated business in Rochester, led by fifth generation owner and president Kip Palmer, has demonstrated its commitment to the community and has placed an investment in its children. Further commenting his commitment to children, Palmer states “Children are one of God’s greatest gifts…how we love them, teach them and protect them will be our ultimate legacy.”

Past recipients of Bivona Child Advocacy Center’s Champion for Children Award include:

2009 - Trudy Starr, CFO, Mercury Print Productions
2008 - Joanna Izzo, Community Volunteer
2007 - Lori Levine, Owner, Enivel Commercial Realty
2006 - Norbert H. Hausner, Architect/Principal, NH Architecture
2005 - Grady Kellogg, Senior Vice President, Marsh USA

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About Bivona Child Advocacy Center

Bivona Child Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization, is a safe, welcoming place where children who have been sexually or physically abused can begin their journey to recovery. Bivona staff facilitate an under-one-roof collaboration of social and legal agencies to protect, treat and counsel child victims and their families, and to investigate and prosecute the abusers. Bivona provides a compassionate, efficient, cost-effective infrastructure for child abuse intervention.

Bivona Child Advocacy Center is the only agency in the Greater Rochester community to provide these services. More than 1,000 children are helped at Bivona each year. Although Bivona receives some government funding, the majority of its support comes from donors. Bivona Child Advocacy Center is an accredited member of the National Children’s Alliance (nca-online.org). The Bivona Child Advocacy Center has quickly become a resource to the community for all issues related to child sexual abuse. For more information, please visit www.BivonaCAC.org.
 

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