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April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and in Charlotte, North Carolina, over twenty agencies are cooperating to bring child abuse and neglect education and awareness to the community. You can find a list of events and the participating agencies below or by visiting http://childabuseawarenessmonth.blogspot.com. How Can You Help?
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Volunteer
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Lend a hand to a family or friend in need
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Spend time with your family and children
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Find ways to help families thrive
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Donate to child abuse prevention programs
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Be a nurturing parent
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Get involved – advocate for services that help families
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Ask for help
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Community members will be encouraged to participate in activities to increase awareness and educate themselves on the facts of this horrible crime. In addition, blue ribbons will be worn in remembrance of the more than 100,000 children reported as abused in North Carolina each year.
Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month April 2008
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Sunday, March 30 Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools College Fair at Merchandise Mart
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April 1-30 Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Student Art Projects
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April 1-30 Hope and Healing Art Projects Behavioral Health Center CMC-Randolph
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April 1-30 Public Service Announcements Local Media Outlets
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Tuesday, April 1 Press Conference
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Friday, April 4 Charlotte Checkers Hockey 7:30 pm Hockey and Blue Ribbons with the Charlotte Checkers
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Saturday, April 5 Charlotte Bobcats Basketball 7:00 pm Basketball & Blue Ribbons at Bobcats Arena
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Tuesday, April 8 Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte 9:30 am-3:00 pm Presentation & Ribbon Distribution
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Saturday, April 12 Stratford Richardson YMCA Healthy Kids Day
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Thursday, April 17 Charlotte Knights Baseball 7:15 pm Baseball and Blue Ribbons at Knights Castle
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Saturday, April 19 Domestic Violence Program 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Eastway Middle School
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Saturday, April 19 Vision Charlotte Wingate Center Spring Fling 11:00 am -2:00 pm
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Saturday, April 19 Arts in Motion South End
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Thursday, April 24 Celebrating Our Graduates Communities in Schools
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Saturday, April 26 Safe Journey Program Communities in Schools Freedom Park
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Neglect is the most common form of maltreatment, but it receives far less attention than other forms of abuse.
- Children younger than 4 years are at greatest risk of severe injury or death.
- Child abuse occurs in all ethnicities, cultures, education levels, and socioeconomic divisions of society.
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the emotional pain and trauma suffered by children who are abused and neglected often troubles them throughout their lives
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34 childhood deaths were attributed to child abuse and neglect in North Carolina during the year 2006
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the Department of Social Services Youth and Family Services Division completed investigations and family assessments involving 12,617 children during fiscal year 2007
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482 children entered into Mecklenburg County's custody during fiscal year 2007
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The Mecklenburg County Child Abuse Awareness Month Coalition is asking the community to take action for children by embracing the theme of "Paint the Town Blue"
This year's CAAM activities are brought to you by Mecklenburg County's Child Abuse Awareness Coalition, a group of local agencies partnering to prevent child abuse on behalf of the children of our community.
The 2008 CAAM Coalition Members are: A Child's Place, CMC Behavioral Health, Carolinas Healthcare, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Child Care Resources, Children and Family Services Center, Communities in Schools, Community Health Services, Community Link, Council for Children's Rights, Customize You Magazine, Guardian Ad Litem, Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, Presbyterian Hemby Children's Hospital, Smart Start, Teen Health Connection, The Children's Hospital @ CMC, The Family Center, Thompson Child and Family Focus, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, United Family Services, Wingate Center, Youth Homes, Inc.
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Children who are physically abused may:
* Be nervous around adults.
* Be watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen.
* Have difficulty playing.
* Act aggressively toward adults and other children.
* Be unable to concentrate at school.
* Suddenly underachieve – or overachieve – at school.
* Find it difficult to trust other people and make friends.
*Arrive at school too early or leave after the other children.
Children who are sexually abused may:
* Behave differently when the abuse starts.
* Care less about their appearance or their health.
* Talk or act sexually at too early an age.
* Be secretive and stop talking about home life.
* Start soiling themselves.
* Be unable to sleep.
* Suddenly find physical contact frightening.
Children who are neglected or emotionally abused may:
* Have difficulty learning to talk.
* Find it hard to develop close relationships.
* Be overly friendly with strangers.
* Be unable to play imaginatively.
* Think badly of themselves.
* Underachieve at school.
Remember: None of these signs proves that child maltreatment is present, since any of them may be noticeable at one time or another. But when they occur repeatedly or in combination with one another, the child may be suffering abuse.
For more information visit www.preventchildabusenc.org.
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The Story Behind the Blue Ribbon!
In the spring of 1989, Bonnie Finney, a Norfolk, Virginia grandmother took a stand against child abuse when she tied a blue ribbon to the antenna of her van. It was a signal to her community of her personal commitment to involve everyone in the battle against child abuse.
This is Bonnie's voice... "I only had one child. My daughter was a beautiful little girl. We knew she had entered into a stormy marriage. We suspected heavy use of drugs, but in five years, three beautiful, healthy children had been born.
My grandson was placed in foster care for three weeks but then sent home. I ached for his dilemma. But I was not physically able to care for him and the courts seemed to believe that home was the best place for him. When my 16-month-old granddaughter was hospitalized from a severe beating - her leg broken in four places and her hand burned from the tip of her little finger to her wrist – they decided to start looking for her little brother. We learned that he had been killed, wrapped in a sheet, stuffed in a box, and dumped into the Dismal Swamp three months earlier. My efforts to understand became a plea to stop child abuse. I tied a blue ribbon on my van antenna to make people wonder. Why blue? I intend never to forget the battered, bruised bodies of my grandchildren. Blue serves as a constant reminder to me to fight for protection of our children."
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