Pinwheels For Prevention

April 1 marks the beginning of child abuse awareness month, a month to recognize the importance of families and communities working together to strengthen families to prevent child abuse and neglect.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan formally established April as child abuse prevention month and every year since communities across the US have come together to bring awareness to the child abuse and neglect crisis, and how communities can come together to help families grow their own resiliency. The blue pinwheel has become the symbol of this important month because the pinwheel represents the whimsy and innocence of childhood and the shape of the pinwheel calls to mind the positive cycles of love and support, we can help families create. The pinwheel itself is also a great reminder of playfulness and joy and the childhoods we all want for the children in our communities.

This month we are issuing a challenge to you, wear blue in support of child abuse prevention share your selfies with #GoBlue #StrongFamilies #SafeKids #GrowingBetterTogether #CAPM, plant or color some pinwheels, find an organization or attend a conference to gain more information on how you can help like the virtual offering of No More Violence Week https://www.allianceforyouth.org/no-more-violence-week-great-falls-mt?fbclid=IwAR2QVzS17AfhhpLu8MMdIipSx6douaZDHD4SH1pKTGi1T4bDvcaFpl2PVVI and the Montana Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Conference https://dphhs.mt.gov/cfsd/canconference and most importantly spread the word and share the importance of this month.

You can find more information about pinwheels for prevention at https://preventchildabuse.org/ and https://familyconnectionsmt.org/