I hate Black Friday. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. I ask you instead to set aside the free baubles and plastic doodads that await you as door buster door prizes for a Black Friday that starts closer to Wednesday. I ask you to set your sights on Tuesday. Giving Tuesday. I ask you to think about the needs of your community versus the wants of your holiday list.
I serve on the board of SAFEchild, Wake County’s only organization that works to treat, prevent, and eliminate child abuse. Abuse is not some distant concept that doesn’t wrap its grip on your world. Both Bird and Deal have had little buddies who are the victims of abuse. I have seen the emotional and physical scars firsthand. It is so easy to look away and pretend they aren’t there, that they are drifting figments of our imagination. But I know. And knowing without doing is proverbial salt in the wound for those children. They trust so few people in their lives. My service to SAFEchild is but a blip compared to the case workers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and volunteers who heal children and families everyday. I will spare you details and photos, but know this:
- 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before age 18.
- 1,900 cases of child abuse were substantiated in Wake County last year.
- 6 children (on average) receive help and healing from the SAFEchild Advocacy Center every week.
The Believe in SAFEchild Campaign funds the SAFEchild Advocacy Center and other programs to break the painful cycle of abuse. Thanks to generous donors, who have committed $234,000 to date, we are on our way to the campaign goal of $440,000. Every dollar makes a difference so please consider helping the children and their families as you set out to shine on Giving Tuesday. Every little bit helps in aggregate. The holidays, after all, are about the children.