Event raises awareness, aims to ‘stomp out child abuse’
In the photos above, Auburn Police Chief Cedric Anderson (left), Capt. Tammy Booth of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (center) and Capt. John Hester of the Opelika Police Department (right) received “LCYDC Partners in Hopeful Futures” awards.
CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Pinwheels swirled in the wind at the Lee County Youth Development Center and Respite House on April 17, as Opelika City Council President Eddie Smith and Auburn Mayor Ron Anders joined LCYDC Executive Director Laura Cooper along with children, staff and community stakeholders at a march to “stomp out child abuse.”
After receiving pinwheel lapel pins, Anders and Smith signed a proclamation declaring April as Child Abuse Awareness Month in the cities of Opelika and Auburn.
The pinwheels represented the carefree childhoods that all children are entitled to and everyone’s role in keeping children safe. There were also blue ribbons scattered about the campus and on shirts and lapels, serving as a reminder of the millions of children and adults who have been subjected to or impacted by abuse.
Also at the event, Auburn Police Chief Cedric Anderson, Capt. Tammy Booth of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Capt. John Hester of the Opelika Police Department received “LCYDC Partners in Hopeful Futures” awards, and then balloons were released in honor of the children who died as victims of child abuse in Alabama last year. In 2023, the Lee County Department of Human Resources investigated more than 600 cases of suspected abuse impacting more than 1,000 Lee County children.
“The scourge of child abuse may not be eliminated in my lifetime, but I am certain that this agency along with our local governments, law enforcement offices and agencies do our level best to stem the cases of abuse and bring hope and healing to those who have been abused,” Cooper said.
For more about LCYDC, visit www.lcydc.org