Pinwheels for Prevention
Event helps draw attention to child abuse
TROY, N.Y. » The Rensselaer County Department of Social Services held a pinwheel planting ceremony on Wednesday morning for child abuse prevention awareness month.
The ceremony took place inside RCDSS while April showers rained down outside.
The RCDSS was joined with their community partners from Start Children’s Center, Early Childhood Education Center, Van Rensselaer Manor, The North Greenbush Police, and ROUSE Independent Senior Living.
“The pinwheels for prevention program ensures that every child has a happy, nurturing, and healthy home environment,” said Rensselaer County DSS Commissioner Theresa A. Beaudoin.
The program is built around the symbol of the pinwheel as a happy and uplifting representation of childhood. The planting of pinwheel gardens and educational events on child abuse prevention are all part of the campaign.
Inside the RCDSS, community partners from the Early Child- hood Education Center, ROUSE Independent Senior Living, and others helped plant pinwheels in the indoor garden.
“What better way to celebrate then with all of our partners?” said Beaudoin. “We all have to learn to dance through the raindrops.”
Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin spoke at the ceremony about the symbolism of the pinwheels.
“There are so many spokes on a pinwheel that make it work. All of us have to work together for child abuse prevention,” said McLaughlin. “If one spoke isn’t working, it will not function as efficiently.”
Children from the Early Childhood Education Center joined in the ceremony and helped to plant the pinwheels in the indoor garden of the RCDSS.
The Early Childhood Education Center is a private, nonprofit preschool and a partner of the RCDSS. For 45 years it has provided services for children and families who require therapeutic and special education services. The center is open to children age three to five with a disability. All programs are available at no charge to families.
“At the Early Childhood Education Center we aim to provide safe and nurturing environments for families,” said Marsha Williams, executive director of Early Childhood Education Center, who has been working with the center for almost 37 years.\
At the end of the ceremony, dozens of blue pinwheels planted by community partners stood tall in the indoor garden of the RCDSS.
For more information about child abuse prevention and other programs offered by the RCDSS, visit their website at http://www. rensco.com/departments/socialservices/.