Lauren Book, founder and CEO of Lauren’s Kids — an organization dedicated to preventing childhood sexual abuse and healing survivors — has been selected as the recipient of the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club’s 2014 Michael Shores Citizen of the Year Award.
Book will receive the prestigious award at the 35th Biscayne Bay Gala on Oct. 25 at the Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by a dinner and live auction at 7:30 p.m.
“Lauren Book has done so much for the youth of South Florida, the state and the nation in her efforts to raise awareness of and prevent childhood sexual abuse that it is our honor to recognize her and her tireless efforts,” said Biscayne Bay Kiwanis president William Reich.
Lauren’s Kids (www.laurenskids.org) educates adults and children about sexual abuse prevention through an in-school curriculum and raises awareness about the issue of child sexual abuse through an annual 1,500-mile “Walk in My Shoes” walk across Florida.
The organization also provides more than 6 million educational and awareness materials statewide through direct mail every year and — aided by the efforts of its chair Ron Book, a noted attorney and lobbyist — has taken proactive efforts to make Florida a safer place through advocacy for the passage of more than a dozen state laws that protect children and help victims heal and become survivors.
Past recipients of this award include Dolphins founder Joe Robbie, coach Jimmy Johnson, broadcaster Ralph Renick, Miami Commissioner Athalie Range, U.S. Rep. William “Bill” Lehman, former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr., Baseball Hall of Fame member Andre Dawson, Super Bowl Host Committee chair Rodney Barreto, Miami Dolphins’ Nat Moore, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Dr. Pedro Greer Jr., U.S. Rep. Dante B. Fascell, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
“I am honored to be recognized by the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club and join such a distinctive list of recipients,” Lauren Book said. “As an advocate and an educator, I hold their work near and dear to my heart. This is a great organization which serves the most deserving children of Miami’s inner city and has for more than 60 years positively impacted the lives of thousands of those children and their families.”
Tickets to the event — expected to be attended by more than 400 of South Florida’s business and community leaders — are $125 ($1,250 for a table of 10) until Aug. 31 and $150 ($1,500 for a table of 10) after that date.
For more information on table purchases, event sponsorship, or program advertising, contact the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club at 305-814-2225 or gala@biscaynebaykiwanis.org.
