From your childhood to theirs…

For many of us, singing and dancing to Raffi’s songs shaped our earliest memories of joy and belonging. Now, FAIMH is honored to welcome the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring to help us strengthen Florida’s future for babies and families. 💙

We'll connect to Raffi's decades-long musical career that has brought joy to millions of children and their families, featuring his recent music that embodies infant mental health ("Love Grows Love") and reminds us of what all human needs to thrive ("It Takes A Village"). Laurel Collins, Executive Director of the Raffi Foundation, will introduce the 9 Principles of Child Honouring.

FAIMH's Executive Director, Dr. Christine Hughes, will highlight the alignment with the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) Position Paper on the Rights of Infants (2016) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Children (1989). We'll have conversation about how we can honor children and build a society that allows each child to thrive, for their future and the health of our future generations.

This session will rekindle the joy we feel when we honor babies, and the spark we all hold as we support, serve, protect and nurture Florida's babies and young children.

What better way to Celebrate Babies than with inspiration from Raffi?! Join us for a powerful session with all who share our belief that love grows love. 🌱

The Event

Wednesday October 22, 2025

12:00 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM Central / 9:00 AM Pacific

live online via Zoom

The Zoom link will be included in the automated confirmation email sent once you RSVP. If you haven't received it after RSVP'ing, check your spam or email quarantine and be sure to mark as Not Spam or Safe Sender to ensure you continue receiving our emails. Questions? Contact us.

About Raffi

One of the leading lights in children's music, Raffi is virtually synonymous with a light, playful style of song and storytelling. Born in Egypt and raised in Canada, Raffi Cavoukian initially launched his musical career in Toronto as a folk singer/songwriter, though he would later find his greatest success when he redirected his performances and recordings toward children in the late '70s. In the ensuing decades, he would go on to revolutionize children's music, starting his own label and becoming both an author and an advocate for ecological awareness in the process while offering music that traversed folk, reggae, ragtime, gospel, jazz, country, and calypso influences.

Later in his career, Raffi founded the Centre for Child Honouring, a foundation promoting his vision of a "children-first approach to healing communities and restoring ecosystems" as well as founding the anti-bullying Red Hood Project, which focuses on online security for children. A commercial success nevertheless, some of his highest-charting albums include 1994's Bananaphone, 2014's Love Bug, and 2017's Best of Raffi, all three of which made it into the Top Ten of Billboard's Kid Albums chart. In the 2020s, he issued a pair of collaborations, 2022's Nursery Rhymes for Kinder Times with Lindsay Munroe and 2024's Penny Penguin with the Good Lovelies. His music continues to inspire today's generations of children, with over 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Child Honouring: Raffi's Vision

Respect for the child as a whole person was always at the heart of Raffi's music career. After decades of inquiry into what children need to thrive, his work evolved into a vision of a world that would respect its young. In 1997, Raffi was inspired to develop a holistic philosophy called Child Honouring. The heart of this vision was expressed two years later in A Covenant for Honouring Children, Raffi's poetic declaration of our duty to the young, along with its nine principles. The Covenant and Principles are now circulated widely in public health and education circles.

Guest Speaker: Foundation Executive Director, Laurel Collins

The Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring proudly welcomed Laurel Collins as its Executive Director in September. Laurel brings to the role a distinguished career of public service, advocacy, and leadership. Her experience spans international humanitarian work, grassroots community organizing, and elected office, all deeply aligned with the Foundation's vision of creating a more compassionate, just, and sustainable world for children and future generations.

Before entering federal politics, Collins was involved in developing education and literacy programs for children and families in South Africa, supported displaced communities with the United Nations in Uganda, co-founded grassroots movements in Victoria focused on climate justice, and worked extensively on gender equity through community programs, education, and advocacy.

A respected former Member of Parliament for Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), Collins is known nationally for her steadfast dedication to environmental and social justice, education advocacy, and policies promoting child and family well-being. During her time in Parliament, she advanced strong positions on climate action, gender-based violence prevention, and the creation of meaningful climate jobs for youth as part of a just and sustainable transition, work that continues to shape her vision today.

Reflecting on her new role, Collins shared: "As a former MP and as a parent, this work is deeply personal to me. After years advocating for climate action, gender equity, and policies that support families, I know how urgently we need leadership that puts children and the planet at the heart of our decisions. I'm honoured to join the Raffi Foundation to help build a future rooted in care for children, and for the people and places that shape them."

Celebrate Babies Day 2025

Music + Conversation with the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring