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| Seinna McEntire, 5, gives the Launch A Bubble game a successful try during Saturday's Lincoln County Child Abuse Prevention Council "Re-think Your Reaction" carnival at the Platte River Mall. |
This year's Child Abuse Prevention Month Kick-Off Kids Carnival proved to be a popular destination.
With the event scheduled to open its doors in the Platte River Mall at 1 p.m., dozens of people were already standing in line. Within 45 minutes, the carnival room was shoulder-to-shoulder with families, which was the goal of the Council in starting the carnival 3 years ago.
Matt Fosket, a Council member and representative of the Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center, said the goal was to provide an environment for families to come and have a good time while also spreading awareness about child abuse in this community.
Sometimes that abuse can be an isolated incident when a stressed-out parent has reached his or her limits. Daily stresses with the added responsibility of parenthood can make for a volatile situation, which is why the Rethink Your Reaction campaign was started.
Each family that entered Saturday's carnival received an information packet that points families to various agencies within the community that can help parents cope without resorting to abuse. The packets also contained information on what child abuse is and how everyone can help prevent it.
A telling sign of the event's popularity came from the free lunch area provided by Walmart Distribution Center.
"They are telling me they are going to run out of food," said Fosket. "At the end of every year we are looking at ways to get rid of all the leftover food, but this year we will probably run out. It's a good problem to have. It's great to see this kind of participation."
This year's carnival also featured various service organizations throughout the area from mentoring agencies, the North Platte Children's Museum, the Women's Resource Center and more. Each agency brought their own games to play and children lined up at all 11 booths ready for free candy and trinkets.
"This is the first year that we went outside of the Council to look for extra agencies who might want to be involved," said Fosket. "Everyone we talked to was excited about being involved. Most of them came and even brought their own games to play and the ones that didn't, at least sent along information for the packets."
If you were unable to attend the carnival, all of the information handed out Saturday can be obtained by visiting www.lincolncountychildren.com. The website exits today because of last year's carnival.
"I was approached last year by someone who wanted the information, but couldn't come to the carnival," said Fosket. "We realized then that we needed a website, so this is also the first year of our website and it wouldn't exist had it not been for this carnival."
Rethink Your Reaction
Written by Jenn Hatcher, KNOP News 2Rethink Your Reaction
April is National Child Abuse prevention month.
The Lincoln County Prevention Council held kick off carnival at the Platte River Mall Saturday afternoon.
They started the event with a mayoral proclamation.
"There for it is my privilege and honor to proclaim the Month of April; Child Abuse Prevention month here in North Platte, Nebraska," said Marc Kaschke, Mayor of North Platte.
The goal of the event is to educate the community to "Rethink Your Reaction."
The event was 100% free with carnival games, lunch donation by the WalMart Distribution Center, and information for parents about abuse prevention.
"We really want parents to rethink their reaction and that's our campaign message is "Rethink your Reaction," when it comes to dealing with stress an your children, taking that time out just for a few seconds to think before you act an to take that time to laugh with your children, to talk with your children and to ask question when you need help," said Matt Fosket, Child Abuse Prevention Council Member.
The prevention council will hold another event on April 27th where they will hold a Make a Difference Award Ceremony.
To nominate an individual or organization, please submit a small essay explaining how this individual has impacted the life of a child. Nominations may be a teacher, child care provider, grandparent, youth pastor, foster parent, social worker or anyone who has made a difference in the life of a child. The Council is accepting nominations through April 8, 2010.
Please submit your nomination to LCCAPC c/o 200 S. Silber, Attn: Laura Davis, North Platte, NE 69101. Please include your name and daytime phone number for verification.
2011 Child Abuse Prevention Month Kick-Off Carnival:
When: Saturday, March 26th, 1:00-4:00pm
Where: Platte River Mall
Cost: FREE Games, Prizes, Parent Resource Bags, Lunch Provided by Walmart DC, Balloon Artists and MORE!
Representatives from the Lincoln County Child Abuse Prevention Council will be on hand, as well as representatives from the following agencies:
Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center
Rape and Domestic Abuse Program
GPRMC - Healthy Start Program
NE Dept. of Health and Human Services
Voices 4 Families
Maranatha Bible Camp
North Platte Area Children's Museum
4-H
Community Connections
Women's Resource Center
West Central District Health Department
Carnival for fun and awareness
By Mark Young | Thursday, March 24, 2011
The North Platte Telegraph
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and for the last three years the Lincoln County Child Abuse Prevention Council launches a month-long awareness campaign beginning with the Child Abuse Prevention Month Kick-Off Kids Carnival.
The carnival will take place Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at the Platte River Mall. It will feature free carnival games for parents to play with their children, a balloon artist and a free lunch provided by the Walmart Distribution Center. While it is designed for parents to have a day to interact with their children, it's also a day to promote the Council's yearly message of "Rethink your Reaction."
Resources will be available and representatives from various child and family agencies will be on hand. Matt Fosket, a member of the Council as a representative of Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center said the event at the mall "is a good way to get more children and families in the community involved by including the games and parenting resources."
There isn't a magic recipe for being a parent and the demands of real life can create stressful moments in just about any family environment. Rethink Your Reaction provides resources and tools to help stressed out parents deal with those stressful situations in a positive way.
The carnival has become a popular event over the last three years as families take advantage of the good time and informative resources. Fosket said the first year the carnival took place, 100 resource bags were handed out and attendance doubled last year.
This year we have increased the number of games, we have gotten other community agencies involved and have changed the time for the carnival in hopes of getting even more people to attend," said Fosket. "The goal is to raise awareness of April being Child Abuse Prevention Month and that our community must be aware of the epidemic of child abuse and understand that each of us has the ability to help prevent abuse."
Raising awareness to protect
Fosket said that by raising awareness it provides parents the opportunity to help protect their children.
"It is important to have events like this that promote fun times for families that are not costly, while keeping awareness about this issue in public," he said. "Many times people are afraid to ask for help, so by providing the Parent Resource Bags, parents have access to this information."
If you cannot attend the carnival, the information is also available atwww.lincolncountychildren.com. Those who do attend the carnival have responded to the event in a positive manner.
"One of the goals behind this carnival is to encourage healthy family interactions and the immediate comments we've received at the carnival in the past has been appreciation for people having something to do with their children that is fun and free," said Fosket. "One major comment we have heard is that someone is always surprised by the statistics surrounding abuse and how much abuse occurs in rural Nebraska."
A child is abused every 10 seconds in this country and five die each day from abuse. For those who survive the abuse, the long-term impacts are self-evident. Almost a third of women serving time in American prisons were abused as children. More than 60 percent of people in drug rehabilitation facilities report being abused as a child and statistics show that almost a third of children who were abused will go on to abuse their own children.
Children of abuse are much more likely to engage in risky behaviors, are 25 percent more likely to get pregnant, 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile and 30 percent more likely to go on to commit a violent crime as an adult.
Education and awareness are two powerful weapons to combat abuse on any level. Find out how you can Rethink Your Reaction on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., at the Platte River Mall.
