In recognition of April as Child Abuse Awareness Month, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania (CAC/NEPA) will initiate its “Pinwheels for Prevention” Campaign on Friday, April 1, 2022. The CAC/NEPA team members and volunteers will plant pinwheels on the lawn of the Lackawanna County Courthouse from noon through 4 p.m.

The pinwheel symbolizes a transformation of awareness into action. It became the national public symbol to raise awareness of the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. It connotates children’s playful, cheerful, joyous nature and is a physical reminder of the happy, carefree childhoods all children deserve.

This April, you can make a difference in the lives of the children we serve by sponsoring a Pinwheel to be planted at the Lackawanna Courthouse lawn or hosting a pinwheel garden at your home or work to support child abuse awareness. The largest pinwheel garden will be planted at the Lackawanna County Courthouse lawn and remain there for the entire month of April. Each pinwheel will represent a child victim of abuse or neglect that received services at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2021, the CAC/NEPA provided599 children with the services needed to begin their healing journey and prevent trauma from lasting effects on their lives. The public can sponsor an individual pinwheel or order their garden by visiting: https://cacnepa.networkforgood.com/projects/152748-2022-pinwheels-for-prevention.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania (CAC/NEPA)is a private, non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to provide excellence in assessing and treating child abuse and neglect. The designated child abuse center for Lackawanna County, the CAC/NEPA, also provides medical assessments and child forensic interviews for victims of abuse and neglect and coordinates a multidisciplinary team response to child abuse and neglect in Lackawanna and surrounding counties of Northeastern Pennsylvania.Since opening its doors in 1998, The Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA has helped more than 18,000 children and adolescents.

All funds raised will further the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s mission.For more information about the CAC/NEPA, please call the center at 570-969-7313 or visit the CAC/NEPA’s website: www.cacnepa.org.