Child Abuse Prevention Month is an important time of year for so many organizations and individuals working tirelessly year-round to strengthen families and protect children. For the first time since 2019, people were able to come together in person to launch the annual Pinwheels for Prevention® campaign, but that was just the beginning of the month-long awareness campaign to grow a better tomorrow for all children, together.
Growing Better Together in April
Here are some of the ways Colorado parents, caregivers, family, friends, neighbors, employers, organizations and elected leaders worked together this April to grow a better tomorrow for all children, together:
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- April 1 was Wear Blue Day, and we launched this year’s campaign at the West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol–in person for the first time since 2019! Nearly 100 people joined us at the Colorado State Capitol to listen to a recorded video message from Governor Jared Polis and hear from professionals and parents about how they are growing a better tomorrow for all children, together.
- The Colorado State House of Representatives and Senate recognized April 1 as the first day of Child Abuse Prevention Month and paid tribute to the work happening in Colorado to prevent child abuse.
- Thanks to the Colorado Child Welfare Scholars Consortium, we were able to award a $2,500 grant to La Cocina as part of our campaign contest. La Cocina’s mission is to dismantle systems of oppression and co-create paths to liberation by providing full access to traditional and non-traditional forms of mental health and health equity support services.
- April 1 was Wear Blue Day, and we launched this year’s campaign at the West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol–in person for the first time since 2019! Nearly 100 people joined us at the Colorado State Capitol to listen to a recorded video message from Governor Jared Polis and hear from professionals and parents about how they are growing a better tomorrow for all children, together.
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- 80 Coloradans took a FREE two-hour interactive online training designed to create a new standard of child safety in communities and throughout Colorado. If you weren’t able to attend in April, free trainings are offered year-round. Find one that works for you.
- More than 200 people across the country contacted lawmakers on April 27 to urge them to reauthorize and increase funding to offer high-quality home visiting services to families as part of Prevent Child Abuse America’s third annual Digital Advocacy Day.
- Communities used the hashtag #GrowingBetterTogether to connect to the movement, finding ways to get involved and signifying their commitment to helping children, families and entire communities to thrive.
- Illuminate Colorado, with the support of SafeCare Colorado, Colorado Parent and numerous other 2022 Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign sponsors distributed 840,264 messages during the month of April to inspire a conversation to grow a better tomorrow for all children, together. Partnering with 54 organizations, highlighted on COPinwheelsForPrevention.org, we reached more than 76,139 Coloradans.
- 80 Coloradans took a FREE two-hour interactive online training designed to create a new standard of child safety in communities and throughout Colorado. If you weren’t able to attend in April, free trainings are offered year-round. Find one that works for you.
What Are the Five Protective Factors?
Protective factors help buffer from the negative consequences of exposure to risks by either reducing the impact of the risk or changing the way a person responds to the risk. The five protective factors that reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect are:
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- Parental Resilience
- Social Connections
- Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
- Concrete Support in Times of Need
- Social and Emotional Competence of Children
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Growing Better Together All Year Long
It can take nearly a year to plan and coordinate these efforts. But, each year we can see the impact greater awareness brings. When parents, caregivers, family, friends, neighbors, employers and elected leaders work together to increase five critical protective factors in families’ lives, that is when we can prevent child abuse, strengthen families and build brighter childhoods.
As the Colorado Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, Illuminate Colorado leads the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign in Colorado and a collaborative effort to raise awareness during child abuse prevention month each year.
Since 2009, this collaborative effort in Colorado has grown exponentially over the years with hundreds of local organizations and thousands of passionate people organizing pinwheels displays – one of the many ways we work together to inspire conversations about how to strengthening families in Colorado.
The Colorado Child Maltreatment Prevention Awareness Campaign Planning Committee will be meeting later this year to being to align awareness efforts and plan create a greater understanding of how to prevent child maltreatment by building protective factors and strengthening families.
Join Us
Interested in organizing awareness efforts in your community? Join the Colorado Child Maltreatment Prevention Awareness Campaign Planning Committee!
Related Posts
Looking Forward from Child Abuse Prevention Month: Strengthening Colorado Families is a Year-Round Effort
Colorado saw lots of wins for children and families during Child Abuse Prevention Month, but the work isn’t over. Learn how you can help us strengthen families, organizations, and communities all year long…
Celebrating Leaders in Child Maltreatment Prevention at the 2023 Illuminate Colorado Pinwheel Breakfast
On April 13th, the Illuminating Leadership Awards were held, celebrating the contributions of exceptional individuals, groups of individuals, and organizations who have furthered our collective mission to strengthen families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment.
A Day in Photos: Illuminate Colorado Celebrates Child Abuse Prevention Month at the Capitol
On April 3rd, Illuminate Colorado spent the day at the Colorado State Capitol celebrating the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month– and we took photos!
