Since 2014, McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center has kicked off National Child Abuse Prevention Month at the Go Blue 4 Kids Breakfast. This event is about educating ourselves about the unsettling – but real – subject of child abuse.
Each year, McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center invites guest speakers to engage and inspire the audience. Our speakers share personal stories about overcoming the trauma of child abuse and their transition from being a victim to becoming a survivor.
Our 2021 Event will look a little different this year due to Covid-19, we will be holding it on a virtual platform. We are excited to bring you the spirit of our normal Go Blue 4 Kids Breakfast in the comfort of your own home or workplace. You will still be able to enjoy our keynote speaker Christine Meredith while she shares her inspiring story.
Empowering others with her inspiring life story, Christina Meredith survived sexual, mental and emotional abuse, trauma, aging out of foster care, poverty and homelessness to forge a life committed to helping others. Through strong faith, hard work, and creativity she went on to become Ms California, found her own nonprofit foundation, and pursue the path to becoming a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. As told in her book, CinderGirl: My Journey Out of the Ashes to a Life of Hope, during appearances on the Today Show and before speaking audiences nationwide, Christina’s story celebrates the transformative power of education, and the potential within all of us triumph over adversity. "My entire story is about hope, faith, hard work, achieving the dream and the purpose that you have been given in this life, and not allowing things to deter you, because circumstances change," she says. "With hard work and a little faith, you can make them change."
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