Campaign officially launched…and you can help!

9 04 2012

The Community Child Abuse Council’s Heart of the Open campaign kicked off officially today, beginning an unprecedented effort to raise funds in support of child abuse education, prevention, and treatment programs. Details about the campaign – and how you can help – are  posted on the Council’s web site: www.childabusecouncil.on.ca.

 

In partnership with the 2012 RBC Canadian Open, the Council is selling “inside the ropes” experience packages, corporate hospitality packages, and group tickets that get golf fans up close and into the action for the RBC Canadian Open’s return to the Hamilton Golf & Country Club, July 23-29. The Council’s team of volunteers will also be on-site at the tournament selling reuseable water bottles and purple awareness ribbons. Proceeds from all campaign activities will support vital prevention, education and treatment programs for child and youth victims of abuse and trauma.

A sizeable lead-off gift from RBC will enable the Council to enhance its current programs and services, but our community has an opportunity to join with RBC and realize an even greater result by supporting the Council’s campaign. Children as young as 3 years of age are currently waiting several months for trauma treatment, and the education and prevention initiatives so crucial to fighting child abuse are in need of financial investment. Remember, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually victimized before reaching adulthood. Here in the Hamilton area, that translates into a significant

number whose lives are affected – shouldn’t we be able to help each and every one of them?

We may never see another opportunity like this one to respond as a community and invest in the lives of our youngest and most vulnerable members – please check out the many ways you can help to support the campaign, and help the Council in its efforts to create a community free of child abuse

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Categories : child abuse, community development, Hamilton Ontario, mental health, volunteers, youth

The Heart of the OPEN

1 04 2012

The eyes of the golfing world will be on Hamilton this July as the RBC Canadian Open returns to the Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

But the heart of the Open, this year, is linked to helping child and youth victims of sexual abuse and trauma here in our community. RBC has chosen the Community Child Abuse Council as the Local Charity Partner for the 2012 RBC Canadian Open, and committed a sizeable financial investment to help the organization in its mission – to reduce the incidence and impact of child abuse and to promote the safe and healthy development of children. This is truly a gift wrapped in hope, and represents a significant opportunity for this community to make great strides in its support of vulnerable and victimized youngsters. By supporting the Council in its partnership with the RBC Canadian Open, the Hamilton region has an unprecedented chance to turn an already generous donation from RBC into something bigger – and to see the legacy of the 2012 Canadian Open be a lasting one for local children’s mental health.

The Council is about to launch a fundraising drive – The Heart of the OPEN Campaign – to engage the support of the community and to involve Hamiltonians in this partnership with RBC and the Canadian Open. Some of the campaign’s activities are directly tied to the Open, including advance ticket sales, exclusive VIP and “inside the ropes” experience packages, and on-site sales. Limited edition hats will be sold in area RBC branches in the weeks leading up to the Open with proceeds going to the campaign. Other campaign efforts are bringing together some of RBC’s corporate clients, community leaders, and friends of the Council in a range of fundraising initiatives aimed at demonstrating that the Hamilton community can and will step up to support child abuse prevention, education, and treatment in partnership with RBC.

Campaign proceeds will help enhance treatment programs for child and youth victims of sexual abuse, expand parent support groups, and invest in proven prevention initiatives. The Community Child Abuse Council is unique in providing these specialized services in the Hamilton community, and continuously works to increase its capacity so that all children needing this help can receive it. A waiting list for treatment has been an ongoing challenge, with children as young as 3 years of age often waiting several months for clinical services. A robust campaign success will also enable the Council to secure a permanent home for its programs and services.

Statistics show that one in three girls and one in six boys is sexually victimized before reaching adulthood. In Hamilton, Chief Glenn De Caire of Hamilton Police Service has publicly referred to rising rates of sexual assaults against children and women, and child pornography, as “troubling” given otherwise declining rates of violent crime in the city. The trauma resulting from sexual victimization can have a lifelong and significant impact if not treated early and effectively. The scars of abuse can last decades and can impact generations.

The 2012 RBC Canadian Open will be held July 23-29 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club

An energetic campaign team comprised of volunteers from all corners of the community is now hard at work to ensure the success of this fundraising initiative. Their efforts, along with the generosity of RBC, bring much-needed attention to child maltreatment and a vital financial investment in the future of local children and youth.  To find out more about The Heart of the OPEN Campaign, to volunteer, or to support the cause, watch the Council’s web site for details ( www.childabusecouncil.on.ca). If you’re a golfer, a golf fan, or know others who are, you can help make the excitement of the Open (July 23 – 29 last long after the trophy has been claimed and the crowds have dispersed…be part of the Open and please support the Council’s campaign and help to make sure the legacy left by the 2012 RBC Canadian Open is one that invests in children and youth well into the future. If we as a community can match RBC’s investment we can take huge strides that are long overdue. Thank you!


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Categories : child abuse, community development, Hamilton Ontario, mental health, volunteers, youth

Teaming up for Hamilton area kids

12 02 2012

Here’s a great opportunity to help support kids in the Hamilton area and embrace the spirit of community-building in a quick and easy fashion…

Our local Boys and Girls Club has a shot at winning a $50,000 grant through the Team Up Foundation (part of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) that would enable them to expand the programs they offer across Hamilton.  The selection process involves two rounds of voting by the public and a screening process by the Foundation’s advisory team but, if they are one of the four successful finalists, they will receive $50,000. As I post this, they are in second place!

In order to make it to the next round and be considered by the advisory team, they need our help in getting as many people to vote every day (until February 20) as possible.  Anyone can vote  (including adults, children, youth, grandparents, etc.) by registering their name and email on the site and then logging in each day.  Multiple people (e.g. each individual in a family) can vote on the same computer each day as long as they log in individually. 

In addition to voting yourself each day, you can help in getting the word out and encouraging others to vote in support of an organization working to empower and support young people in our community. 

 How to support Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton in five easy steps:

 Go to http://mlseteamupfoundation.org/giving/team-up-foundation-fund/

  1. Click on “View the Candidates”.

  2. Find and click on “Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton” (currently on the first page but this may change from day to day).

  3. Click on “Vote for this Charity” (you will need to register the first time you vote but can simply log in each time afterwards).

  4. Repeat every day until the voting ends on February 20!

 Thank you in advance for your help and support!  Remember that every vote counts!



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Categories : community development, Hamilton Ontario, youth

Extra baggage…priceless

1 02 2012

I was fortunate to attend the 26th Annual San Diego Conference on Child Maltreatment last week in San Diego, where some 1,500 professionals from 30+ countries gathered to consider the latest developments, research, and practices in the fields related to child maltreatment. It was an overwhelming opportunity to immerse myself in the diverse content and myriad approaches shared by an impressive line-up of presenters. I brought back some excellent ideas and resources, and made some valuable contacts. But the weightiest item in my luggage on the return flight wasn’t a book, a manual, a DVD, or any other tangible item. It was the insight I gained from one particular speaker, and it is more precious to me than anything else I learned or experienced during the entire conference.

Pam Toohey

This would probably be a good place to insert a “spoiler alert” to protect those who might be lucky enough to be in a future audience being addressed by Pam Toohey. But I won’t spoil anything. It wouldn’t be right. The impact of sitting in that audience, hearing Pam speak, and taking away her powerful message is just too valuable to risk diminishing it for anyone else. Suffice it to say that Pam found a way to share “lived experience” in a way that was both unique and inspiring. I have never experienced anything quite like it before. More than the story she told, it was the way she told it and also the ways she chose to deliver it to an audience of “in the know” professionals. Their reactions, like my own, are a tribute to Pam’s amazing contribution to the conference… spontaneous, thunderous, on-your-feet applause. I have no doubt that most of them left with the same indelible messages Pam left with me.

I had the honour of telling Pam, in person, how much I appreciated her presentation. I joked with her that any excess baggage fees I might have to pay on my flight home would be due to the incredible gift she had given me, and that I would happily pay them in exchange for coming away with such an inspiring message. Pam laughed at that, then blushed when I told her that her presentation alone had made the conference for me. In the midst of the clinical trials, the stats and outcomes, the new approaches, and the policy discussions, Pam had painted the whole experience with a very personal, very provocative brush. It coloured my entire conference experience for the better, and it will stay with me in my work and in my life for a long time to come.

Thank you Pam. I’m asking the right questions now.


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Categories : child abuse, community development, EnMark Associates, Karen Smith, mental health, research, women

Wielding Power & Influence

7 11 2011

People in power (and men, in particular) continue to make news headlines for their abuse not only of influence but of children. First we saw the horrific video of a Texas family law judge beating his daughter while spewing a venomous tirade of foul and hurtful language. Next it was former Penn State athletics official, Jerry Sandusky, charged with sexually assaulting eight boys between 1994-2009. In this latter case, other school officials have been charged with perjury and with failing to meet their duty to report suspected or known threats to children and an ongoing investigation continues.

Adding to the Penn State scandal, the accused continued to use the university’s facilities after his retirement in 1999 for his work with The Second Mile, a charity he founded in 1977 for at-risk kids. The organization’s web site lists a who’s who of sports icons and hall of famers on its honourary board (including golf great Arnold Palmer, Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti, former Steelers Jack Ham and Franco Harris, retired football coach Lou Holtz, current Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr., actor Mark Wahlberg, and corporate notables from Hershey Foods, Quaker State, Ortho Pharmaceutical, and KMart). One wonders how their potential power and influence might be wielded given the circumstances.

“This is a case about a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys,” said state Attorney General Linda Kelly. Despite being arraigned on 40 criminal counts, Sandusky has been released on bail.

The Texas judge, meanwhile, will apparently not face charges due to the length of time that has elapsed since the (videotaped in 2004) beating took place.  Police in the Texas jurisdiction where Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams resides have announced that they “believe that there was a criminal offense involved and that there was substantial evidence to indicate that and under normal circumstances … a charge could have been made” but that the statute of limitations for such charges stands at five years (CBS News). An investigation by the state’s judicial conduct commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is still pending.

These are headlines that have crossed international date lines, but will soon simply become state, and then local, coverage as yet another round of high profile cases dims from the spotlight. Whether you live in Texas or Pennsylvania, or in Ontario, it’s ultimately up to us whether the conversation continues…what do we think about a statute of limitations on crimes like child abuse (that often don’t surface for many years)? How do we feel about sexual predators successfully using youth programs to connect with kids? And what do we imagine is the best we can do to help the children who fall prey to these criminals (or may)? What’s our potential influence here, and are we wielding it in the best interests of children?



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Categories : child abuse, community development, crime and violence, EnMark Associates, media, youth

You can’t be what you can’t see

23 10 2011

Here’s an exciting and worthy project aimed at empowering young women and changing the portrayal of young girls in the media…MissRepresentation addresses this in several important ways. If you’ve looked closely at a young girl lately you may have noticed the jeans, the makeup, the hair…much of it a predictable response to perceieved expectations that, for many, go hand in hand with being young and female in our society. Too many young girls spend tremendous effort and money trying to live up to something they’ll never achieve — and who wants them to? The potential cost of these misguided priorities is substantial – their confidence, their time, and a distraction away from the other skills or hobbies or attributes they could be pursuing. In fact, some young girls are literally dying to live up to “an image.”

Driven by the message delivered in the film Miss Representation, a documentary that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the project is “a call-to-action campaign that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting labels in order to realize their potential”. Among its goals are the eradication of gender stereotypes and the creation of lasting cultural and sociological change. The project includes an educational curriculum, film screenings, and an action agenda with options for supporting the campaign.


Check out the details at www.missrepresentation.org

 


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Categories : community development, media, mental health, social media, women, youth

October is Child Abuse Prevention Month

2 10 2011

To educate yourself about child abuse, and for information about what each of us can do, please visit www.childabusecouncil.on.ca.

To support the work of the Community Child Abuse Council, marking its 35th anniversary this year, join the fun on October 21st at the Mad Hatter’s Ball: www.the2011mhb.com.


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Categories : child abuse, community development, crime and violence, youth

“The Cruelty Crisis”

14 08 2011

Dr. Brené Brown

Here’s an interesting and thought-provoking take on bullying from Dr. Brené Brown (Professor and researcher, University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work). She draws our attention not to the kids we typically associate with schoolyard trauma or to the teens whose angst can have devastating results, but to our own (adult) behaviours and our society’s tolerance of cruelty. Recommended reading.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ordinary-courage/201010/the-cruelty-crisis-bullying-isnt-school-problem-its-national-pastime


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Categories : child abuse, community development, crime and violence, mental health, research, youth

Feed The Dream

15 04 2011

Did you know that in Hamilton more than 23,000 students get a breakfast, lunch and/or snack each day at their local school or community centre? Many of these kids, 1 in 4, live in poverty. Others lack the required nutrition to get them through the day because busy lives, work schedules, or stressful home situations get in the way. Hamilton Partners in Nutrition (HPIN) provides nutritional meals and snacks to students across this community, funded largely through provincial money but relying also on donations and fundraising. Rising food costs require ongoing efforts to raise money and a significant dependence on volunteer dedication.

On Saturday, June 18th you can support their work by supporting their Feed The Dream Auction. It will be held at Hamilton’s Discovery Centre and will include both silent and live auction events as well as entertainment and hors d’oevres. Opportunities to help include buying event tickets, donating auction items, volunteering for the evening, or advertising in the auction brochure. EnMark Associates is pleased to be donating an auction item, and challenges readers of this site to do the same.

Full details can be found at www.partnersinnutrition.ca or by calling 905-522-1148, ext. 301.  Be sure to find out about the special pre-auction cruise aboard The Harbour Queen.

There are more than 100 student nutrition programs in Hamilton, and as of June 2010 they serve 447,183 breakfast meals and 650,690 snacks with the help of 6,695 volunteers. Parents alone contribute more than 45,000 hours of volunteer time, estimated to represent more than $750,000.

 

Karen’s recent work has included a project with the Hamilton Community Foundation and area stakeholders to develop a universal school-based nutrition program in Hamilton. Buildiing from what is already in place, the initiative aims to make nourishment available to all elementary school students (secondary school population would come next) and to help the community move forward towards the goal of being the best place in which to raise a child. Watch this blog and the Hamilton Community Foundation’s web site (see link at right) for updates on the project.


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Categories : community development, EnMark Associates, Hamilton Ontario, philanthropy, poverty, volunteers, youth

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

8 04 2011

McDonald's ad, Austria

 Regular readers will know that I have talked about this topic often – the commercialization of childhood and the inappropriate (and damaging) marketing of everything under the sun to kids. More often than not the messages are highly sexualized, exploiting the very innocence that ought to be protected.

Here are two resources you may find interesting. It’s nice to share other voices and reassuring to know others are ranting about this too.

www.commercialalert.org: their mission is “to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy”. Check out their Parents’ Bill of Rights and campaign to get salespeople out of schools.

Our nation is in the grips of a commercial hysteria. Sometimes it seems like everything is for sale. At Commercial Alert, we stand up for the idea that some things are too important to be for sale. Not our children. Not our health. Not our minds. Not our schools. Not our values. Not the integrity of our governments. Not for sale. Period.

www.commercialexploitation.org: national organization (U.S.) devoted to limiting the impact of commercial culture on children – their mission is “to reclaim childhood from corporate marketers”. Good resources and attention to diverse issues (from obesity to violence) along with clout in their advocacy efforts – they have successfully battled Disney, Scholastic Inc. (Bratz), McDonald’s and Hasbro. 

The commercialization of childhood is the link between many of the most serious problems facing children, and society, today.  Childhood obesity, eating disorders, youth violence, sexualization, family stress, underage alcohol and tobacco use, rampant materialism, and the erosion of children’s creative play, are all exacerbated by advertising and marketing.  When children adopt the values that dominate commercial culture—dependence on the things we buy for life satisfaction, a “me first” attitude, conformity, impulse buying, and unthinking brand loyalty—the health of democracy and sustainability of our planet are threatened.  CCFC works for the rights of children to grow up—and the freedom for parents to raise them—without being undermined by commercial interests.

CCFC is active in the Toronto area where a recent campaign helped stop the installation of digital monitors in area highschools (along with their ad content)…anyone involved with CCFC in Hamilton???

 


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Categories : child abuse, community development, EnMark Associates, media, youth

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