UW News

March 31, 2003

Swinging Into Action: April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Week

Children’s Response Center kicks off the month with the “To Heal A Child’s Heart”April 4 luncheon

Bellevue, Wash.– To help draw attention to child abuse and sexual assault prevention, Children’s Response Center is holding the annual “To Heal A Child’s Heart” luncheon to coincide with the April observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Week (April 7-13). The event will be held Friday, April 4 at noon at the Bellevue DoubleTree Hotel, 300-112th Avenue SE. To reserve a space or for more information, call (425) 688-5130. Corporate Pacesetters are John L. Scott CARES and Puget Sound Energy. Keynote speaker is Eastside Journal president and publisher, Peter Horvitz. KOMO 4 news anchor, Kathi Goertzen will emcee the event.

Prevention and education efforts planned for the month include informational displays in Bellevue and

Lake Forest Park. In addition proclamations will be presented at City Council meetings in Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland, and at the King County Council. On April 12th a staff member will host an informational table at the Bellevue Barnes and Noble.

In addition, the Center has an active Speaker’s Bureau available to present a 2003 Totem-award winning speech to local community, service and business groups. The speech is a critical component of the Center’s community outreach and marketing efforts. Packets of materials for use in increasing public awareness of child abuse and sexual assault are available from Children’s Response Center.

Children’s Response Center, affiliated with Harborview’s Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress, provides comprehensive counseling and advocacy services to children and their non-offending family members affected by sexual assault and other traumatic event and offers prevention and education services. The program serves communities in east and north King County.

Child Abuse Prevention Month has been observed each April since its first presidential proclamation in 1983. Since that time, individuals and organizations have joined together during April to raise the public’s awareness of child abuse and its prevention.

For more information about Children’s Response Center, “To Heal A Child’s Heart” luncheon, or Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Week, contact Gayle Zeller, Prevention and Education Coordinator at (425) 688-5130 or visit www.ChildrensResponseCenter.org