The life and times of Audrey Mae Bibbins

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The life and times of Audrey Mae Bibbins

• Parents Anonymous of Iowa

Place photo here
When you are willing to make sacrifices for a
great cause, you will never be alone. Coretta
Scott King
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Audrey Bibbins

• Audrey Graduated from Drake University in Des
  Moines, IA in 1975
• She completed her education while raising five
  children, Franklin, Andrea, Dennis, Lori and
  Karen as a single parent after her husband
  passed away in 1972.
• Audrey also has 5 grandchildren and 1 great grand
  child
• Audrey is a wonderful mentor to parents and uses
  her experiences as a single parent to help other
  families who attend Parents Anonymous Groups in
  Iowa.

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Audrey begins her work with Parents Anonymous

• Audrey worked as the Des Moines Child Guidance
  School Outreach to King Elementary school as well
  as other schools in the area from 1977 to 1997.
• In 1977, while working at Des Moines Child
  Guidance, Audrey became a Board Member of the Des
  Moines Child Abuse and Neglect Council, now the
  Child Abuse Prevention Council, who supported the
  Parents Anonymous group by paying for Parent
  Handbooks and child care workers.
• From the council Audrey heard that Louise
  Augustine, a local Christian Educator, was
  looking for someone to help her reach more
  parents to attend a Parents Anonymous group at
  Grace United Methodist Church.
• Audrey was introduced to Louise and they began
  their work reaching out to parents. At the time
  there was just one parent who had been attending
  Parents Anonymous for almost a year. Within a
  short time more parents learned of Parents
  Anonymous and began attending the Grace United
  Methodist group.
• Des Moines Child Guidance then offered Audrey
  both the time and the space to begin a second
  Parents Anonymous group at the center. Louise
  and Audrey co-facilitated the Grace group and the
  DSM Child Guidance group, one on Monday evening
  and the other Monday morning.

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Beginning Parents Anonymous in Iowa

• Soon Louise and Audrey began yet another Parents
  Anonymous group at Bidwell Riverside Center on
  Monday afternoon with the help of a Parent Group
  Leader, who you might know as Dave Dhainin.
• At this time Parents Anonymous groups across the
  United States were organized as chapters under
  the National Office. There was little, if any,
  funding to support Parents Anonymous in Iowa.
  Audrey worked as a volunteer then and has
  continued her volunteer work with Parents
  Anonymous, as well as many other community
  projects to this day.
• In1981 Audrey, Dave and another Parent attended
  their first national organization of Parents
  Anonymous Chapters conference in South Bend, IN.
  The focus was learning new ways to build Parents
  Anonymous groups, as well as new funding ideas..
• 1985 Audrey, Dave and Louise attended the
  National Conference in Chicago, when Parents
  Anonymous,Inc. was contemplating a merge with
  the National Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse
• At this conference in Chicago, the Oakridge Boys
  performed Thank God For Kids

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Audrey continues her work in Parents Anonymous

• In 1986 Audrey and Dave began a Parents
  Anonymous group in Urbandale, IA
• In 1987 The Urbandale Group became the first
  Parents Anonymous in the country to have a
  parent and a child who were HIV positive. Audrey
  and Parents Anonymous worked to educate the
  community about AIDS in Des Moines and in the
  state of Iowa. In doing so it furthered the role
  of all Parents Anonymous groups as non
  judgmental and supportive to all families. Iowa
  communities were beginning to respond to the
  impact Parents Anonymous was having on families.
• In 1991 Audrey became a Board Member of Parents
  Anonymous of Iowa, Inc during its first
  incorporation.
• Audrey continued as an Advisory Board Member to
  Parents Anonymous while under the auspices of
  Children and Families of Iowa
• In 2002, Audrey became the Vice President of the
  Board of Directors when Parents Anonymous of
  Iowa Inc. reincorporated.
• Audrey continued her work at Des Moines Child
  Guidance and then became the supervisor of
  Visiting Nurse Services Healthy Start Program. At
  the same time she continued to co facilitate
  Parents Anonymous groups and serve on the Board
  of Directors.

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Audrey Bibbins Honoree

• Audrey retired from Visiting Nurse Services in
  2002 but continued her work with Parents
  Anonymous of Iowa.
• Audrey has been one of the greatest ambassadors
  for Parents Anonymous , always willing to help
  parents first and foremost, but also to accompany
  staff in their community outreach activities.
• Audrey was a wonderful mentor to the hundreds of
  parents she has helped in Parents Anonymous
  throughout her years of service. The lives she
  has touched truly show us how Parents Anonymous
  works to strengthen families.
• In November 2006, Audrey made the decision to
  move to Oakland CA to live with her daughter. We
  continue to learn everyday by the examples she
  has set in her thirty years of service.
• Please help us in honoring
• Audrey Bibbins
• with a very special Thank you.