Children’s Trust Fund observes Child Abuse Prevention Month
Activities, events around the state culminate in April 26 gathering at State Capitol
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2022
CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s Children’s Trust Fund is recognizing the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect with a month of activities that will culminate with an April 26 ceremony on the lawn of the State Capitol.
Activities and initiatives through Michigan this month will center on the symbolic blue and silver pinwheel of Prevent Child Abuse America, which serves as a visual representation that everyone plays a role in providing children with a bright future.
The mission of the Children’s Trust Fund to keep children safe and strengthen families across the state takes special significance each April for Child Abuse Prevention Month.
As the only statewide organization dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect, the work of the Children’s Trust Fund – which is within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) – supports local programs and services that touch all 83 Michigan counties.
“Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign in 2008,” said Suzanne Greenberg, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund. “The pinwheels are a representation of child-like whimsy and lightheartedness as well as a vision for a world where all children grow up happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in supportive families and communities.”
The Power of the Pinwheel is the theme of this year’s pinwheel campaign. Through the 100-plus prevention partners of the Children’s Trust Fund and this year’s statewide partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, supporters of preventing child abuse are planting 50,000 pinwheels in hundreds of gardens throughout the state.
The 14th annual Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Day rally is 11 a.m. April 26 on the steps of the Michigan Capitol. Featured speakers this year include MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. The inaugural Inspire Award winner for volunteer service and commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect in Michigan will be presented to Sharon Barry of Barry County.
“We are thrilled that our new partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is giving us farther reach to expand and amplify our message for Child Abuse Prevention Month,” Greenberg said. “When we recognize that child abuse and neglect affect each of us and can unite under a common cause, we are giving hope to every child in our state and ensuring Michigan secures a stronger future.”
For information on the Children’s Trust Fund and Child Abuse Prevention Month, visit michigan.gov/ctf.
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About the Children’s Trust Fund
Created by the Michigan Legislature in 1982, the Children’s Trust Fund is Michigan’s only statewide nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The Children’s Trust Fund serves as a voice for Michigan’s children and families and promotes their health, safety and welfare by funding effective local programs and services that prevent child abuse and neglect.
