It’s spring and the beginning of outdoor activities in the neighborhood and around the country. Tomorrow is the solar eclipse. I plan a private party in my own backyard. Warm weather brings out celebrations that winter is over, and the sun is shining.

But for some, spring is not a time of celebration, it’s just another day. In Garfield County, Oklahoma there were 271 confirmed cases of neglect or abuse of children in 2023. 271! And there were probably many more that weren’t reported.

The Garfield County Child Advocacy Center Care Campus (thecarecampus.com) and their volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), do their best to help children who have no voice.

To bring attention to this ever-increasing problem, Garfield County, Oklahoma has a presentation on the courthouse lawn each year in conjunction with the First Friday Events downtown to show these replicas of the children to the public. For $35 you can represent one of the children by renting the wooden cut out and taking it home and dressing it. It is then displayed with the others to bring awareness to this problem and help fund their project. My husband (a former CASA) and I always rent and dress a wooden child and place it on the courthouse lawn. I took it down a little early Friday before all of them were in place and put it out for display. The empty poles will all be filled. My picture doesn’t do justice to the number of children standing on the lawn, but imagine 271 of them. They will be there throughout the month of April then they will be stored away for next year.

But the children they represent will still need help. The Care Campus always needs contribution and volunteers. I’m sure there are similar groups in your community. Be sure to help them out and possibly save a child from abuse and neglect. They all have their stories to tell.

Another Story another Time. What are you reading/writing this week?