Pinwheels for Prevention brings awareness to child abuse

For the next few weeks, pinwheels set up around Alachua County and other parts of North Central Florida will represent children the community can work toward keeping safe.

The pinwheels are a part of the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign, which tries to raise awareness about child abuse.

One in 4,000 children in Alachua County are either abused or neglected, said Cathy Winfrey, the program manager for Healthy Families. The county’s rate is double that for the state.

Driving by and seeing the pinwheels can be a shocking reality, said Annie McPherson, the program director at the Child Abuse Prevention Project at the University of Florida.

“We do have a problem, and we need people to get involved to solve it,” she said.

The Child Abuse Prevention Task Force will be holding events throughout April, including the 10th anniversary of the Celebrate the Child Carnival on April 20.

The pinwheels will decorate the community until April 27.

Kristen Morrell wrote this story online.