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Planting awareness about child abuse in Craig

Erin Fenner
Amanda Arnold, Moffat County United Way community impact coordinator, plants pinwheels for a Connections 4 Kids campaign against child abuse.
Erin Fenner

About 170 pinwheels are spinning gently in front of McDonald’s.

The pinwheel garden, planted by local volunteers organized by Connection 4 Kids, is an effort to raise awareness about child abuse. Each pinwheel represents a child born in Craig in 2013, and the spinning mass is meant to make people consider the children they ought to look out for.

Betsy Overton, coordinator for Connections 4 Kids, organized the planting and said it was a positive way to educate people about an important issue.



“We’re trying to prevent it before it happens,” she said. “It represents the potential of the risk that children can be placed in.”

A small group of volunteers got together Wednesday morning to put together the garden. They pushed the pinwheels into the lawn in front of McDonald’s, counting up the faux-flowers and arranging them so they looked just right.



Corrie Ponikvar, executive director of Moffat County United Way, said the grouping of pinwheels will bring attention to child abuse in a meaningful way.

“I just think the garden provides a powerful way for us to visually bring awareness to child abuse,” she said. “A lot of people are visual. It catches your eye.”

Tanya Ferguson, who helped with the garden and is on the council for Connection 4 Kids, agreed with Ponikvar.

“I feel that it’s a positive way to get people aware of (child abuse),” Ferguson said. “It’s definitely a big statement.”

This is the fourth year Connections 4 Kids has planted a pinwheel garden as part of a national awareness campaign with Pinwheels for Prevention, Ponikvar said. This year the organization partnered with Court Appointed Special Advocates, Pinwheels for Prevention and McDonald’s to set up the outdoor display.

The pinwheels likely will be up through April 15.

Contact Erin Fenner at 970-875-1794 or efenner@craigdailypress.com.


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