New community partnerships, outreach events, and media coverage highlighted Child Abuse Prevention Month for Prevent Child Abuse Georgia this April.
"We are grateful to everyone for supporting our efforts during this month of special focus on our work to build strong families," said PCA Georgia Executive Director Jennifer Stein. "Whether you completed a training, shared a social media post, planted pinwheels, or attended one of the new Celebrating Georgia Families events, it all adds up to a united approach to creating a primary prevention ecosystem in Georgia."
February's proclamation event at the Gold Dome on February 29 set the stage for a full slate of awareness activities leading up to and during April.
Georgia's Own Credit Union's digital billboard featured a message of Strong Families to kick off the month on April 1-3, with Wear Blue Day highlighted on April 5.
Another valued prevention partner, the Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Children's Hospital of Atlanta, lit up the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs area with a partnership with the King + Queen towers and pinwheel gardens at three CHOA locations.
Just in time for April’s focus on family advocacy, Prevent Child Abuse Georgia released a new coloring book.
The project highlights the Protective Factors embedded in the Strengthening Families Georgia framework, using state-centric native species including the pair of playful otters on the cover.
The coloring book was made available exclusively through in free family resource kits at the Celebrating Georgia Families: Be the Village events held in April in three areas of the state.
“I love to relax with a coloring book. It’s fun and lets me be playful,” said PCA Georgia Executive Director Jennifer Stein. “We think it’s a great way to connect with the children in your life.”
The concept for the project was inspired by a similar coloring book published by the Alaska Children’s Trust, Stein said.
“We wanted to customize one for Georgia families,” she said.
The book also includes resources for families in the back of the book.
Creative Services Director Hannah Quigley created the original artwork and built out the project with the storyline created by SFG Coordinator Kendra Cole and PCA Georgia Assistant Director Dr. Jyll Walsh.
PCA coloring book sales will open later in the year to state prevention partners.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s office included PCA Georgia's CAP Month in its Crime Victim Rights Week grant that funded three billboards and 10 bus stop signs. PCA Georgia Executive Director Stein delivered remarks as part of the program hosted by DA Sherry Boston. These high-profile placements featured “Supported Families are Strong Families” messaging and included PCA Georgia and Find Help Georgia logo placement.
Broadcast coverage included the morning show anchors at Atlanta News First wearing blue on April 5 and 11 Alive including a PCA Georgia shout-out in its Enjoy Today video series.
Radio coverage included an interview with Niecey Shaw on 102.9 with Executive Director Jennifer Stein; the station ran PSAs all month. Assistant Director Dr. Jyll Walsh also talked about prevention on the Cobb Collaborative Mind Your Mind Speaks Podcast.
Social media channels buzzed daily with customized content for CAP Month. The CAP Month toolkit was made available to local councils and other partners, with 1,665 visits to the prevention page from March 1-April 30.
PCA Georgia’s membership in the Georgia Press Association, Georgia Association of Broadcasters and a strong partnership with the Georgia State University School of Public Health further expanded messaging throughout the month.
Also in April, PCA Georgia launched their newest training, Lean On Me: Creating a Culture of Support. This training seeks to shift the focus from family surveillance toward family support. Access the recording or request a training for your group.