Spring Quarterly Newsletter 2021

Quarterly Newsletter - Blog Post

In this issue:
Create A Superhero Contest (Feb/March)
Child Abuse Awareness Month (April)
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April) 
Airplane Fly-In & Pancake Breakfast (May)
Staff Updates

Create A Superhero

We have launched the “Create a Superhero” Contest for students in 1st-5th grade from February 15- March 4, 2021. Students from all Eastland County schools were invited to participate which  included a chance to win several prizes, such as gift certificates to the following:

• Pizza Heaven 
• Majestic Theater
• Maxx Air Trampoline Park in Abilene 

The Grand Prize winner will be the featured theme logo for the Eastland County CAC for this upcoming year and used for all online and print promotions, safety planning, educational, and special event materials for 2021. 
Winners will be publicly announced on the CAC Facebook page (@eastlandcountycac) on April 1, 2021, which is the beginning of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month (CAAPM), and the “Every Kid Deserves a Hero” campaign. 

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Child Abuse Awareness Month Activities:

During April, the Eastland County Children's Advocacy Center will be presenting several child abuse awareness and prevention community outreach events as well as social media posts on safety tips, call to action ideas, and education about those working in the field of child abuse response and prevention. The CAC hopes to engage, educate, and empower the Eastland County community in the work of creating safe spaces for all children.  To learn more and stay up to date on the upcoming activities- including a CAC birthday celebration- follow us on Facebook or contact the CAC at 254.629.8229.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and we believe it is more important now more than ever to talk about all forms of sexual assault, including online behaviors that can lead to violence. In a time where we are more often online than face-to-face, it is important to educate about how unwanted texts, photos, emails, and links can lead to more dangerous situations.  All of these behaviors have the same motivation behind the action and what they are influenced by. Online should be a safe place to work and have community time with friends and family without the fear of being harassed. Educating our community about these behaviors contributes to not building unsafe social norms and can lead to ending these types of unwanted advances that can lead to violence.
  
**Sexual violence is an umbrella term that includes any type of unwanted sexual contact — either in person or online — including sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.

​This April, during SAAM on our social media pages, we will be posting ways to practice online safety and keep the kids in your life safe from abuse. Trauma from online abuse can also have a huge impact on an individual and a community and it is important to know that we are here for support.  As new platforms emerge and technology expands, we can help build safe online spaces now and into the future. Resource: https://www.nsvrc.org/​ 

Airplane Fly-In & Pancake Breakfast

The Crime Victim Assistance Center is having the Pancake Breakfast and Airplane Fly-In at the Eastland Municipal Airport on Saturday, May 1st from 9:00am - 12:00 pm in conjunction with the Eastland Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). This family-friendly event will be free to the public with any donations going to the Eastland County Crisis Center.  
Attendees can also view vintage, modern, and emergency aircraft as well as participate in free airplane rides provided by EAA. EAA sponsors the plane rides, which are subject to their requirements and weather and flying conditions. 
Aviators wishing to participate in the fly-in or anyone interested in the free plane rides, contact Bode with Eastland Aero, LLC at 254.629.1588.

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Staff Updates

Over the last month, we have had staffing changes. Our Family Advocate, Tina, had an exciting opportunity for a new job with 2Ingage. During this transition, our Prevention Educator, Desare, has now moved over to the Family Advocate role and she has already been hard at work. Desare has been with the ECCC for 3+ years and has worked as a Victim Advocate during that time. We know our clients will be in good hands. 

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