Prevent Child Abuse America and actor Josh Charles from the Emmy-nominated CBS show, The Good Wife, will turn New York City’s iconic Times Square into a “Big Pinwheel Garden” on Tuesday, April 8, at 9:00 a.m.
ET with hundreds of supporters creating a display of more than 5,000 pinwheels – the national symbol for child abuse prevention. The event calls for people to take action in support of healthy child development as the nation marks April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
This will be the signature event of the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign, through which Prevent Child Abuse America has distributed more than 3.5 million pinwheels nationwide since the campaign’s launch in April 2008.
“We all want healthy starts for our nation’s children; yet we know that various adversities like poverty, child abuse, domestic violence and substance abuse can sometimes get in the way,” said Charles. “But we can all play a role in taking the time to do what we can, to provide every child with the opportunity to have an even playing field as they start their lives. I’m a good example. I’m not a parent but hope to be in the future and very much want to see all children have the opportunity to lead full, productive lives.”
Charles will be joined at the event by Cristina Cuomo, Editor-in-Chief of Manhattan magazine, who will host the proceedings. Key organizational partners such as Manhattan magazine, Kappa Delta, Sigma Delta Tau and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs are lending support.
To support the campaign, the public can:
• Help a neighbor in need by offering to baby-sit or give parents a break
• Volunteer for your Prevent Child Abuse America state chapter or another child- or family- serving agency
• Donate at www.pinwheelsforprevention.org/give
• Donate $10 by texting PINWHEEL to 20222 (powered by www.givebycell.com)
“According to UNICEF, the U.S. ranks poorly in children’s issues, including being 32nd out of 34 industrialized nations in terms of child poverty and 26th out of 29 in terms of overall well-being. Realities like these should serve as a wake-up call and that we can and must do better," said Jim Hmurovich, President & CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America. “Pinwheel gardens are calls-to-action, some as simple as to provide the personal attention to families and children that each of us, from time to time, have needed ourselves. The pinwheels remind us that our nation does not have a national strategy to promote the healthy development of each child, regardless of their circumstances. This must change and our call to action must be to change our personal behavior, attitudes and social norms to value children; all children.”
In addition to the New York City event on Tuesday, April 8, the organization will host another Big Pinwheel Garden in Chicago on Wednesday, April 16, at Navy Pier, and Prevent Child Abuse America state chapters will conduct pinwheels-focused events throughout April, including a pinwheel garden event hosted by Nebraska’s First Lady in downtown Lincoln, NE; a “pinwheel garden” of 1,000 pinwheels in Indianapolis (each representing 87 healthy births for the 87,000 children born annually in Indiana); and pinwheel rallies at state capitals around the country.
