CASA for Children is recognizing April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month with their 10th Annual Songwriters on the Edge of Texas Concert and Golf Tournament and a Proclamation Reading.
CASA is proud to announce their award winning artists featured at this year’s CASA Songwriters concert, Jack Ingram and Sunny Sweeney performing an acoustic show. Jack Ingram was voted Best New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2008. Sunny Sweeney also carries the 2013 title from the Academy of Country Music for Best New Female Vocalist and joins CASA for her second appearance at the event. The artists will both perform individually and then finish the evening with an acoustic collaboration.
The concert will take place at Northridge Country Club, Sunday, April 12 at 6:00pm. Tickets are $75 per person and includes dinner by Outback Steakhouse. Various event sponsorships and raffle tickets are available by calling the CASA office (Sponsorship option will end on Saturday the 11th). Morning golf tee times are also available for April 13th at 8:00, registration at 7:30am.
Also, in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, CASA will host a Proclamation Reading and drape their new CASA and Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center Building at 1201 Main Street with blue string lighting and pinwheels on Wednesday, April 15th. Blue is recognized as the national color for child abuse prevention, and recently, pinwheels have been chosen as the national symbol for child abuse prevention. CASA invites the community to attend the April 15th event at 10:00 am at their office located at 1201 Main Street, Texarkana, Texas as City officials will be on hand to present the Proclamation Reading and illuminate the building in blue, declaring April as Child Abuse Prevention month for our community.
In 2014, CASA for Children served approximately 400 children in their 8 county service area. CASA currently serves Miller, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River and Nevada Counties in Arkansas and Bowie and Cass Counties in Texas. More than 80 CASA volunteers spoke up for abused and neglected children who, through no fault of their own, ended up in foster care. Unfortunately, more than half of the children in care do not have CASA volunteers.
During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, CASA invites our community to learn more about the work we do and consider becoming a CASA volunteer. Not everyone can be a CASA volunteer, but everyone can be an advocate by taking steps to make our community safer for our children:
- Be mindful of the signs of abuse and neglect in children, such as lack of adult supervision, extreme positivity or aggression or poor hygiene.
- Be aware of warning signs in parents, such as showing indifference or rarely touching or looking at their child, constant verbal criticism, demands for perfection, blaming the child for family problems or other irrational behaviors.
- If you think a child is in immediate danger, don’t hesitate. Call 911.
- If you believe a child is being abused or neglected, report your suspicions confidentially to the Arkansas state toll-free child abuse hotline at 800-482-5964 or to the Texas hotline at 800-252-5400.
Working together, we can end abuse and neglect so that every child has a chance to thrive.
To support CASA for Children by participating in the Songwriters event, attending the proclamation Reading or for more information on becoming a CASA Volunteer, visit www.casatexarkana.org/songwriters or call CASA for Children at 903-792-1030.
