HIPPY In the News

The HIPPY USA Newsletter, HIPPY Times, is distributed three times a year and is produced for HIPPY coordinators and local HIPPY program staff. Please review current and previous issues of HIPPY Times for interesting information and updates. Or, review the Parents Page (available in English and Spanish) for ideas on positive parent-child interaction.

HIPPY USA National Conference
Please note that this is an in-service training event for HIPPY coordinators and local HIPPY program staff. If you are not currently part of a HIPPY program, but are interested in attending or presenting a workshop, please contact HIPPY USA at 501-537-7726. Find out more information about the HIPPY USA National Conference.

Dr. Regina Benjamin Speaks to Hundreds at National Conference

United States Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin is shown below with Dr. Joe Thompson, Arkansas Surgeon General, and Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former United States Surgeon General.

Dr. Regina Benjamin, United States Surgeon General, made her first official appearance in Arkansas, speaking to more than 500 participants during the opening gala of HIPPY USA’s National Conference. Dr. Benjamin served as the keynote speaker during the Avima D. Lombard Gala, held at Little Rock’s Peabody Hotel on April 11, 2010. The program is named in honor of HIPPY’s founder and recognizes a HIPPY staff person whose professional services have made a significant contribution to improving the lives of children and their families. The HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) conference is a professional development training and networking event for HIPPY staff across the United States.

Dr. Benjamin was nominated as U.S. Surgeon General by President Obama and confirmed by Congress in 2009. Immediately prior to her current role, she was CEO of the Bayou Clinic, a nonprofit medical clinic she founded in the Gulf coast town of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. A local HIPPY program in the area serves rural residents, including many Vietnamese new immigrant families working as shrimp fishermen.

HIPPY believes that a healthy child is a better learner, and our programs give parents the skills to help their children succeed in schools. Dr. Benjamin represents the national recognition that a child’s health is essential to educational achievement. Her dedication to family health and her work with disadvantaged people has been inspirational.

Dr. Benjamin is a former Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University Of South Alabama College Of Medicine in Mobile and immediate Past Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States. In 2002, she became President of the Medical Association State of Alabama, making her the first African American female president of a state medical society in the United States. In 1995, she was the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. She served as President of the American Medical Association Education and Research Foundation and Chair of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA).

In 1998, Dr. Benjamin was the United States recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. Benjamin was named by TIME magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under." She has been featured in a New York Times article, "Angel in a White Coat," and was chosen "Person of the Week" by ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning, and "Woman of the Year" by People Magazine. She was also featured on the December 1999 cover of Clarity Magazine and received the 2000 National Caring Award, which was inspired by Mother Teresa. In 2006, she was awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2008, Benjamin was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. In September 2008, she was one of that year's class of 25 in the MacArthur Fellows Program, nicknamed the "Genius Awards," receiving a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 2009, she received the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award.

Bill and Hillary Clinton Support the HIPPY Model

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Florida State Senator Nan Rich are shown below during HIPPY USA's 2006 National Conference



Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been major supporters of the HIPPY program for more than 20 years. As governor and first lady of Arkansas, the Clintons brought HIPPY to their home state, where it has thrived and remains a state program today.

In his 2007 book GIVING: How each of us can change the world, Bill Clinton refers to HIPPY as an endeavor that "gives skills." He further writes:

"I wish there were HIPPY programs in every community with a significant number of single mothers or poor, undereducated parents. Anyone who has ever been to a HIPPY graduation ceremony and seen the pride and self-confidence of both parents and children would agree. Even if you are not a parent of a preschool aged child, you can take the lead in bringing HIPPY to your home town, volunteer to be a home visitor, or support them with money or other services."

For more information about the book, please click here.

Clinton, Bill. (2007). Giving: How each of us can change the world. New York: Knopf,p.73.

Avima D. Lombard

HIPPY Founder (1926-2008)

After graduating from Cornell University, Dr. Avima D. Lombard attended Columbia University Teachers College where she received her Masters Degree in 1950. She continued her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, earning a Doctorate of Education in 1968. While at UCLA, Dr. Lombard served as the Assistant Director of Preshool Research Projects and worked as an Evaluation Coordinator for the UCLA Head Start Evaluation and Research Office.

Avima had an extensive career as a professor, researcher and published author. Her publications include Success Begins at Home: The Past, Present, and Future of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters and numerous other research papers. In addition to presenting extensively around the world, she taught as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Education at Columbia University Teachers’ College in 1981 and also served as a Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and as the Director of Early Childhood Research and Projects for the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) Research Institute for Innovation in Education. In addition, Dr. Lombard is the founder of HIPPY, starting Haetgar (HIPPY) in Israel, and spreading the program around the world, to Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, and several other countries. As the mother of HIPPY, she was a friend and mentor to numerous HIPPY coordinators, home visitors, and state and national leaders around the world. 

The Avima D. Lombard Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to improving the lives of young children and their families. The awardees embody Avima's proactive, risk taking and determined approach to work. They have been involved with the HIPPY program in the United States, and continue to support the mission of HIPPY USA.

The Avima D. Lombard Award is named after our founder. HIPPY was piloted in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1969 and grew to become one of Israel's leading early education programs in the mid-1970s. In 1982 an international meeting led to HIPPY’s expansion around the globe. HIPPY was brought to the United States in 1984, and the national office, HIPPY USA, was established in 1988. Since then, tens of thousands of children and families in communities across the country have received high-quality school readiness and parent involvement services through the HIPPY program.