Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, eldest daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, will be the guest speaker at Family Services of Western Pennsylvania’s annual Act 2: A Celebration of Second Chances event on November 30, 2012 at the Jay Verno Studios, 3030 Jane Street, on Pittsburgh’s Southside. The event will benefit the agency’s NorthCo Vocational Rehabilitation Center which offers persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, ages 16 and older, the opportunity to enhance work skills and behaviors, while becoming familiar with work demands and employer expectations.
As Maryland’s first woman Lt. Governor, Mrs. Townsend instituted the office of Character Education to provide a focal point for the teaching of responsibility and respect to the next generation. Before being elected Lt. Governor, Mrs. Townsend served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States. She helped design and launch the nationally acclaimed Police Corps, a program that gives college scholarships to young people who pledge to work as police officers for four years after graduating. Mrs. Townsend serves on a number of non-profit boards. She is the chairman of the Institute for Human Virology at the University of Maryland and serves on the board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Points of Light Foundation, National Catholic Reporter, and the Character Education Partnership, among others. While serving as the chairman of the board of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, she created the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Mrs. Townsend is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Event tickets are $50 per person and will include a performance by the award winning August Wilson Dance Ensemble and music by the Terrence Vaughn Band. Tickets for the event are available on the agency’s website at www.fswp.org, or by contacting Laura Latini at 412-820-2050 ext. 412.
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Family Services of Western Pennsylvania provides a wide variety of programs, services and activities for children, adults and families living in the Western Pennsylvania region. For more than 125 years, Family Services has maintained its commitment to its mission to “Empower people to reach their full potential.” For further information about Family Services of Western Pennsylvania or any of its programs, services and supports, contact our office at 412-820-2050 or visit our website at www.fswp.org.