APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH

Pinwheel Gardens are springing up across Virginia as well as the Nation in April. These pinwheels are to bring awareness that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The GFWC Botetourt Town & Country Women’s Club has pinwheel gardens in two locations across Botetourt Country : Route 220/779 at Nationwide Insurance, Fincastle United Methodist Church and Route 11 at the old Mill Creek Garage

During 2010-2012, GFWC VIRGINIA partnered with Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and its statewide network of affiliates to prevent child abuse and neglect. This partnership provides GFWC Virginia club women an opportunity to positively affect staggering maltreatment statistics. Child abuse and neglect is the cause of more than 1,000 deaths each year in the United States. In Virginia, every 84 minutes a child is abused or neglected. Every 8 days a child dies from abuse or neglect. What can you do to save a child from abuse, neglect, and death?

History has proven that increases in unemployment directly relate to increases in child abuse and neglect. Sadly, at a time when more parents are stressed and need additional support and guidance, state and local funding for child abuse prevention programs is being cut.

The 2010-2012 GFWC Virginia State Project provides service opportunities which extend far beyond financial support. Child maltreatment affects all economic, racial, social and ethnic groups. Prevent Child Abuse Virginia has 48 community partners serving 106 localities across the state. Club women are able to develop and implement proven child abuse prevention programs within their very own communities.

The GFWC Botetourt Town & Country Women’s Club invites you to look for the Pinwheel Gardens and to reflect on how you can support this positive message to bring awareness and support of prevention of child abuse and neglect in our community. This month and throughout the year, The GFWC Botetourt Town and Country Women’s Club encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Botetourt County a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help promote children’s social and emotional well-being and prevent child maltreatment within families and communities.

The GFWC Botetourt Town & Country Women’s Club is a volunteer organization for women age 18 and older that offers it’s members an opportunity for community service as well as making new and lasting friendships. The GFWC Botetourt Town & Country WC is a member of GFWC Virginia and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The Club meets the 4th Monday of each month except for July, August and December at St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Daleville, VA at 6:30pm. Women interested in attending are welcome. For more information, write to GFWC Botetourt Town & Country WC, PO Box 98, Daleville, VA 24083 or contact any member.