GRAFTON— According to reports, approximately three million children are abused and neglected across the United States each year, and officials believe that those numbers could be lessened with effective prevention programs.
Annually, the Taylor County Family Resources, through their Partners in Prevention, spearheads a community-wide campaign geared at educating and bringing awareness to child abuse through their Pinwheels for Prevention program.
The Pinwheels for Prevention campaign provides an opportunity everyone, individuals and organizations alike, to take action by learning more about prevention, supporting children and family friendly policies and services, and volunteering at the local, state and national levels.
No matter what people do in life, there is almost always a way to link it to somehow impacting a child. Whether it’s someone’s job interacting with children, they are a family member giving some over worked parents a much-needed break or they are an employer working with employees’ schedules to help them with a work life balance, they are touching a child’s life.
“When we actively support children and parents by understanding stressors, offering loving and supportive environments, helping with resources in times of crisis, connecting community members with others going through the same stage of life we ensure will children grow up happy and safe, productive contributing adults,” expressed Cathy Coontz-Griffith, Taylor County Family Resources Executive Director.
Every day is a call to action and an opportunity for everyone to recognize the role they play in a child’s life.
The month of April, Child Abuse Prevention Month, is a special month to pay even more attention to the impact that each of us play in the life of a child and carry that throughout the year.
Each April, the organization comes together with community members to recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month, with the special ceremony. This year, Taylor County’s Partners in Prevention will be welcoming individuals to a flag raising, where a proclamation declaring the observance of this special month will be read. Guests are then invited to attend an ice cream social inside of the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
Please join the Taylor County Family Resources in kicking off the all-important Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign on Friday, April 9, at 5:00 p.m. on the grounds of the Shrine. “It is a perfect time for us to discuss with families and other citizens the importance of child abuse awareness and prevention,” Coontz-Griffith voiced. “Every person is a resource and is capable of helping to impact the issue in a positive way.”
Coontz-Griffith shared that there are numerous steps individuals can take to help shed light on this serious issue. For more information, please contact the Taylor County Family Resources by phone at 304-265-6838.
