Run for the Children fundraiser takes off late-April

The 17th annual Run for the Children 10K, 5K and 1K will be taking off again this year at the end of the month. The proceeds from the run benefit Virginia’s House and Dr. Goodall’s House, which help children who victims of abuse or neglect and their non-offending family members.

The event takes place each April to coincide with national Child Abuse Awareness Month which raises awareness of child abuse throughout the country. This year the program will be held Saturday, April 23 with the start and finish line at Third and Oak Street in Graham. Run for the Children board president Dora Cawley said the program ultimately is to benefit the children in the community.

“The purpose (...) is to empower children to have hope, healing and know that they’re cherished. But we do this because we want to raise awareness in our communities for children (...) who are, or are at risk for, being victims of abuse and or neglect, and for their families, that there is a place that they can turn to for help and guidance,” she said. “We do it to promote awareness, and hopefully prevention.”

Virginia’s House, in Graham, and Dr. Goodall’s House, in Breckenridge, provide services to the communities of Young, Stephens and Throckmorton counties. Cawley said the these organizations are necessary for the communities they serve.

“In our community, we are very blessed to have Virginia’s House/Dr. Goodall’s house, a family resource center (...) serving Young County, Graham and Olney, and Stephens County, so Breckenridge and the CASA program in Throckmorton. And they provide programs that can help parents, caregivers, find the resources that they can turn to, to help their help their children. Helping parents who might otherwise be at risk of abusing their children to find resources, supports or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress,” she said. “We want children who may be a victim, or at risk for being a victim, to be aware that there is a place even while they are living through a period of darkness (...) We know that child maltreatment is associated with adverse health and mental health outcomes with negative consequences such as depression, developmental delays and risk of developing substance abuse during adulthood, should they not receive help to overcome, to recover from the scars that abuse and neglect can place on them.”

For the full story, see the Saturday, April 2 edition of The Graham Leader.