April and pinwheels bring chance to draw attention to child abuse

ASHEBORO — Have you ever wondered what’s the meaning of all those bright blue spinning pinwheels seen around town every spring? They’re a national symbol for child abuse prevention and are displayed during April, Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The pinwheels bring awareness of child abuse while at the same time reflecting joy and innocence, what every child deserves. The emphasis is on hope, resilience and prevention.

Walker Brown is coordinating the Child Abuse Preven tion events this year. He’s the program administrator for Child Protection and Family Services at the Randolph County Department of Social Service (DSS). 

Brown said the pinwheels are displayed in front of agencies involved as well as other businesses around town.

“They show their solidarity with the victims of child abuse,” he said, adding that the pinwheels are the result of “very intentional planning for the past four or five years.”

Pinwheels are ordered each year by the Randolph Partnership for Children, which provides them to partnering agencies. Others who wish to have pinwheels can contact Partnership or can order them at  https://preventchildabuse.org.

Those pinwheels also remind the community of the annual walk downtown. The Randolph County DSS, along with many community partners, will be hosting the Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Walk & Block Party in downtown Asheboro on Thursday, April 16, at Asheboro Recreation Center, located at 148 North St. A portion of the street will be closed to traffic.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with the community partners hosting tables on site with information about their agencies and the services they provide. The event will begin with an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. followed by a mile walk that will focus on advocating for prevention, building community capacity, and raising awareness to prevent child abuse and neglect, strengthen families, and foster healthy children and youth.

The walk also serves as an opportuni ty to bring the community together and collaborate by sharing information about each agency’s services and efforts to prevent child abuse. There will be activities for children as well. All residents are invited to attend.

Brown said activities will include resource tables with the various agencies, free activities for children as well as free Kona Ice. He said the block party component was added this year as well as a time later in the day when children will be out of school.

“It’s to get more community involvement,” Brown said. “It’s not just for awareness but about how to prevent child abuse and to have more resilient families. The organizations are geared toward stronger families.

“We’re hoping folks will come out,” he said, and take advantage of “fun things for kids and resources for parents.”

Community partners include Asheboro Police Department, Guardian ad Litem, NC FosterAdopt Mission, Project 82, Randolph County Family Crisis Center, Randolph Partnership for Children, Randolph County Public Health and Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.