Nellis, Creech to recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month Published March 30, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Jennifer Richard Nellis AFB Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Family Advocacy is scheduled to hold several awareness-raising programs for Nellis and Creech AFBs throughout the month. Child Abuse Prevention Month will officially kick off here when Maj. Gen. Stephen Hoog, United States Air Force Warfare Center commander, signs the "Proclamation Designating April as Child Abuse Prevention Month at Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases" April 2. Throughout the month, shoppers at the Nellis Base Exchange will be able to pick up blue ribbons as part of the Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse. Volunteers will be passing out the blue ribbons at the BX every Wednesday in April from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The base library will also recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month by hosting special story times, featuring various Nellis and Creech commanders as guest readers, every Wednesday in April from 10:30-11:15 a.m. There will be a pinwheel display in the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital lobby from April 13 to the end of the month. The pinwheel is the national symbol of child abuse prevention, and each pinwheel in the lobby will list the name of a child abuse prevention advocate. From April 20-23, a Shaken Baby Memorial Quilt will be on display at the base library. The quilt, provided by the Shaken Baby Alliance, is a tribute to babies that have died of shaken baby syndrome. Child Abuse Prevention Month began in 1983. Each April, the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect--part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau--coordinates programs and events to raise awareness of child abuse. At Nellis and Creech AFBs, there are programs throughout the year to support families and their children. Family Advocacy offers classes in areas such as stress and anger management, relationship enhancement and parenting. For more information on Child Abuse Prevention Month and/or available family support programs at Nellis and Creech, please contact Mr. James Bertolini, Family Advocacy Outreach Manager and licensed clinical social worker, at 653-3880.
