Things are still a little bit different, but Prevent Child Abuse Henry County is still working hard to get its message out.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and that means it is time for the annual “Pinwheels for Prevention” campaign.
Pinwheels, the national symbols for child abuse prevention, are being displayed around the county as in previous years, but the kickoff event that usually takes place in conjunction with this initiative did not happen this year.
“We were told by Prevent Child Abuse America and Prevent Child Abuse Georgia that because of the pandemic they did not want us to hold any large gatherings, so we were not able to do the kickoff like we normally do,” said Robin Jones, who heads the Henry County organization. “We plan to do it next year.
“We are still selling the pinwheels, T-shirts and signs, and encouraging people to plant the pinwheels and take pictures of themselves either wearing blue or with their pinwheel gardens, whatever they normally like to do, and post them to our Facebook page. Then we will put them on our website. We probably won’t see as many this year as normal, but we are encouraging people to do that.”
Some of the cities in Henry County have issued proclamations in recognition of this month’s activities. Jones and others have been getting the word out to local groups as well.
“We were really hoping to have a virtual 5K this month, but the person we were working with to put it together got COVID, so it will probably be in May,” said Jones.
There are plans for the traditional Paint Henry Blue community kickoff to return in 2022. In the meantime, citizens are asked to post photos of themselves wearing blue and/or with their pinwheels to Facebook with #PaintHenryBlue2021 and tag @Prevent Child Abuse Henry County. This year’s theme is “growing a better tomorrow for all children, together.”
More information about Prevent Child Abuse Henry County can be found at preventchildabusehc.org.
“We’re still trying to get the message out there and remind people that every child deserves a safe and happy childhood,” said Jones.
“Instead of focusing on all of the negatives, we are encouraging everyone to pour positive childhood experiences into our children. Prevention is about promoting programs and resources that strengthen families, and trying to help parents be the best they can be.”
