Go Blue 4 Kids Breakfast

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The Go Blue 4 Kids Breakfast brings community members together to talk about the uncomfortable, but real, subject of child abuse.

The McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center invites guest speakers to empower and educate our audience about child abuse during April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Speakers share personal stories about overcoming the trauma of child abuse and their transition from victim to survivor.

Our 2025 Go Blue 4 Kids Breakfast will take place on Friday, April 18th 2025 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

Keynote Speaker: Elijah Lee

Keynote Speaker - Elijah Lee

Elijah Lee, a 17-year-old student and community activist, is a national advocate for children. For the past six years, Elijah has organized annual child abuse prevention marches and served as a public speaker on the issue of child abuse. To support young survivors and reduce the impacts of trauma, Elijah organized and raised funds for pediatric safe rooms at Vidant North Hospital in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and the Children's Hospital of Richmond. He raised over $10,000 between both projects, leading him to be named the 2023 Emerging Philanthropic Leader by the Central Virginia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Elijah is the founder of a nonprofit organization, Hear Our Voices, dedicated to empowering young people with an emphasis on assisting youth in finding their voice and becoming agents of change. For this work, he was named the 2023 Youth Entrepreneur of the Year by the Metropolitan Business League. Elijah is an active lobbyist with the Virginia General Assembly, advocating and testifying for legislation impacting young people. In the 2023 General Assembly Session, he introduced six bills, with three getting passed. For the 2024 session, he has continued this work, submitting over 15 pieces of legislation. For his efforts, Elijah was recognized by the Virginia House of Delegates as House Joint Resolution 2023. He serves as a public speaker on the issues of child abuse, racism, oppression, and trauma-informed care. He has served as the keynote speaker for the KIPP National Summit, Indiana NAACP Conference, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina Conference, Virginia School Safety Conference, and other events. Elijah serves as the Co-President of the Virginia Chapter of Voters of Tomorrow, as well as a founding Co-Chair of the Coalition for Virginia’s Future. Elijah is a field organizer for several organizations, with focuses ranging from protecting reproductive freedom to increasing access to mental health services. Elijah’s activism led him to be featured on the Marvel Hero Project on Disney+, made two appearances on the Kelly Clarkson Show, and was highlighted in People Magazine and an edition of the Black Panther Comic. Elijah was also named one of the youngest award recipients of Style Weekly's 40 under 40. In addition, at the age of 10, Elijah became an ordained minister, and he continues to serve as a guest preacher. He remains committed to his academics as a Junior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School.

PAST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Sasha Joseph Neulinger (2024)
Founder and President of Voice For The Kids, and Co-Founder and Head of Production at Step 1 Films

Victor Rivas Rivers (2023)
Actor, Athlete and National Spokesperson for the National Network to End Domestic Violence

Michelle Knight (2022)
Cleveland Kidnapping survivor, author

Christina Meredith (2021)
Survivor, foster care activist, mental health advocate, and national speaker

Dawn Schiller (2019)
Expert survivor-leader in the anti-trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault movements

Jenna Quinn (2018)
Survivor and author of Pure in Heart: A Memoir of Overcoming Abuse and Passing Jenna’s Law

Kevin Mulcahy (2017)
Survivor and Assistant U.S. District Attorney

Matthew Sandusky (2016)
Survivor, Founder and Executive Director of Peaceful Hearts Foundation

Marilyn Van Derbur (2014)
Survivor and author of Miss America by Day: Lessons Learned from Ultimate Betrayals and Unconditional Love

*Some photographs on the website were taken by mdg images photography by Michael*

PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH IN APRIL

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