Shelly Yanoff, former executive director of Ciudadanos públicos para niños y jóvenes (PCCY), has been chosen as the 2017 “Looking Out for Kids” Lighthouse Award recipient for her tireless commitment to improving the lives of the Philadelphia region’s children by developing initiatives and advocating for quality healthcare, child care, public education and family stability.

The Lighthouse Award was established by Salus University to honor those who are beacons of light and sources of strength in the community in which they live, work, and serve, above and beyond their occupations. Award-recipients demonstrate stellar, selfless, path finding community service that substantially benefits the health and well-being of disadvantaged and underserved children and youth in the greater Philadelphia area.

Ms. Yanoff will be recognized at the 11th annual “Looking Out for Kids” (LOFK) charity fundraiser, which funds the University’s school vision program. Money raised at the LOFK charity fundraiser provide nearly 3,000 vision screenings annually, comprehensive eye examinations for hundreds of children who fail the screening,  and two pairs of eyeglasses each to underserved and underinsured children in Philadelphia and Montgomery County schools.

Ms. Yanoff has devoted her life to ensuring children have access to critical healthcare services and health insurance throughout her numerous career achievements, especially during her 26-year tenure at PCCY. Ms. Yanoff is the epitome of what the Lighthouse Award exemplifies, according to PCCY Health Policy Director Colleen McCauley, who presented her nomination.

“Shelly works from the premise that ‘all kids are our kids’ and that ‘democracy is not a spectator sport’ – that people have to be engaged and care enough to tell their elected representatives to do something better,” Ms. McCauley wrote in her nomination letter. “Shelly has definitely led by example and made this city and its suburbs eminently better for children. Shelly played a major role in expanding the scope and quality of services to children and their families in the region.”

Salus University and its clinical optometric facility, The Eye Institute, are thrilled to present Ms. Yanoff with this prestigious accolade. Her lifelong commitment to children’s health makes her a true embodiment of the Lighthouse Award.

If you would like to be there to herald the great Shelly Yanoff, you can purchase tickets at this link:  https://www.salus.edu/News/News-Stories/Second-Annual-Lighthouse-Award-Recipient-Shelly-Ya.aspx