Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center Executive Director Shannon Peduto provides remarks Wednesday before volunteers plant scores of blue pinwheels on the County Courthouse lawn to draw awareness to child abuse.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
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Pinwheels glisten on the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn Wednesday as a crowd of advocates and law enforcement workers planted the decorations to raise awareness of child abuse. Some 500 pinwheels, blue to represent the black and blue marks of abused children, were planted for each child helped by the County Child Advocacy Center. They will remain up through April, Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
County K9 officer Spike takes a break Wednesday in front of a sign noting April is Child Abuse Prevention month. The Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center planted blue Pinwheels on the Luzerne County Courthouse Lawn to draw awareness to the number of abuse cases each year.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
A pinwheel is planted on the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn Wednesday morning, one of about 500 intended to represent the children helped annually by the county Child Advocacy Center.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Meteorological coincidence proved provident Wednesday. As a crowd began to plant blue and silver pinwheels into the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn, the morning’s relentless grey canopy of clouds started to break, allowing sunlight to sparkle off the decorations.
Designed to call attention to the problem of child abuse — blue hearkens to the black and blue marks the youngsters may bear — the pinwheels began to visually pop, a few catching not only sun but also a breeze.
“We’re planting almost 500 pinwheels to raise awareness about child abuse,” Shannon Peduto explained. The Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center’s Executive Director, Peduto noted the Center was planting one pinwheel for each child served by the Center in the past year. A similar number of pinwheels were planted outside Hazleton City Hall later in the afternoon.
Workers at the CAC were joined by representatives from the county District Attorney’s office, area politicians, Children and Youth Services, and law enforcement agencies to plant the flags. While Luzerne County K9 Detective Spike also stopped by, he opted not to join in the actual poking of holes and planting of pinwheels.
The private, nonprofit center opened in 2010 and helped 155 children who were victims of abuse that year. Since then, the center has assisted more than 5,000 families. This was the 10th annual pinwheel planting, meant annually to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
The Center also sells pinwheels for anyone who may want to plant their own “garden.” The cost is $30 for 10 pinwheels and a yard sign. Those interested can call CAC at 570-208-2895, or order online at luzernecountycac.org.
Awareness can help stem or prevent more abuse, Peduto said. “If you happen to see something going on, say something.”
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
