April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and on Tuesday, Great Falls College-MSU hosted a pinwheel-planting event as part of "No More Violence Week."
Pinwheels For Prevention is a national public awareness campaign built around the symbol of the pinwheel. The pinwheel represents a happy symbol of childhood and is meant to convey the message that every child deserves the chance to be raised in a safe environment.
All week long, the school is hosting presentations and forums to raise awareness about topics such as human trafficking, domestic violence, and child abuse.
On Tuesday morning, students from Sunnyside Elementary School helped plant hundreds of pinwheels on the snowy lawn at the college. Joined by GFPS staff, the students chanted, "Keep kids safe!"
There were also silhouettes of children on display to represent children that are currently in foster care.
Click here to learn about other activities scheduled this week.
The Prevent Child Abuse website explains:
In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the new national symbol for child abuse prevention through Pinwheels for Prevention®. What our research showed, and what our experiences since then have borne out, is that people respond to the pinwheel. By its very nature, the pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children.
