BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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CLAREMONT — For many people, a pinwheel blowing in the wind might conjure memories of hot summer days and childhood innocence.
In fact, the pinwheel has grown to represent family barbeques and a catch-all for nostalgia. It is fitting then, TLC Family Resource Center Executive Director Maggie Monroe-Cassel said, that the pinwheel has also become a symbol in national efforts to keep children safe.
“A pinwheel is a very simple image of something we have a good childhood memory about,” Monroe-Cassel said. “Children should be able to run free with a pinwheel and laugh.”
As National Child Abuse Prevention Month picks up, members of the Claremont City Council joined Monroe-Cassel and TLC staff on Friday to plant pinwheels in the bushes around the nonprofit organization’s Pleasant Street headquarters. The event was a bid to raise awareness around child abuse prevention efforts.
While the slushy ground and at-times heavy snowfall may have played a part in the event’s low turnout, the afternoon gave city officials and nonprofit leaders an opportunity to speak about awareness efforts and potential next steps.
“Partly, what I like about this is that it sparks a conversation,” Monroe-Cassel said. “It gets something going.”
Already, Mayor Charlene Lovett advised the TLC staff to bring the conversation into the broader community through public forums like the upcoming city council and school board joint meeting on April 17. In keeping with TLC’s mission to build positive relationships within the community, representatives from the organization also noted that community members can help build awareness around child abuse prevention.
“We’ve got to learn to be people who strengthen families and not just judge,” Monroe-Cassel said.
Similar to the guiding philosophy behind much of the organization’s programming, Monroe-Cassel advocates that residents focus on building positive attributes within the community and affirming positive behaviors. As AmeriCorps VISTA Neil Allen also added, ways to build the positive aspects of the community can be as simple as helping neighbors and becoming aware of social concerns like child abuse.
“There’s a lot of things that people can do that don’t require a lot of effort,” Allen said. “But they can make a big difference.”
As the month continues, Allen said that the TLC Family Resource Center is open to residents with questions or ideas to improve community outreach and awareness around similar issues.
“We’re her to support and strengthen, not to judge,” Allen said. “How can we help you to be stronger?”
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