Norton to Attend Weekend Events Dedicated to D.C. Youth
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will spend part of Saturday and Sunday at events that reinforce her work for young people in the Congress, and on Saturday evening, she will attend the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington's D.C. Swing Affair Gala.
After speaking at a rally for the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies at 10:00 a.m. at Samuel Gompers Park (11th Street and Massachusetts Ave. NW), Norton will join participants on a walk from the park to the Wilson Building, at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Congresswoman, who has been working to reduce the number of teen pregnancies since coming to Congress, said, "The CDC reports an impressive 9.3% drop in our teen pregnancy rate. The D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies and our many other stakeholders are making terrific progress. Nothing could be more important for children than reducing the risk of becoming parents prematurely. Saturday's walk is one more way of spotlighting the program and the progress the city is making." The goal of the rally and walk on Saturday is to raise awareness of the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's mission of cutting the District's teenage pregnancy rate in half by 2015.
After the rally and walk, Norton will reinforce her emphasis on physical fitness at a Women's Fitness Month event with Miss D.C. USA at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE at 12:30 p.m. Norton will encourage girls and women to become and stay active, emphasizing one of her priorities in Congress. She has introduced the LIFE Act, which would provide $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat obesity and sedentary lifestyles.
Sunday afternoon, May 6, Norton, who is Honorary Patron for the annual International Children's Festival, will speak at the opening ceremony at Atrium Hall in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center at 1 p.m. The Festival, now in its sixth year, gives children the opportunity to visit more than 20 educational booths hosted by embassies from across the globe, and to see traditional dance and music performances by local and international groups. "The festival serves two important purposes here," Norton said. "Its booths and performances offer D.C. youngsters from all eight wards the chance to see something of the world beyond their neighborhoods, and the festival itself also highlights Washington's status as a world-class destination, not just the center of the federal government. Our kids often lack exposure beyond their home communities. I see the need even with my D.C. Students in the Capitol program, which seeks to get every student to see the Capitol at least once before graduation. Most youngsters who come with their classes have never been to the Capitol before."
Published: May 4, 2012