From the Desk of Bob Simmons,  Executive Director 
 Bob Simmons began his new role with the Council on March 30.
 
I took my first pro bono school discipline case as a 29-year-old volunteer lawyer for the new Children's Law Center in 1987. Through my years on the Law Center board, the Council for Children board, and the Council for Children's Rights board, the Council's mission of standing up beside individual children in need and speaking up for all children in our community has been the constant center of my civic life. I am honored now to serve on the front lines with the rest of the Council's staff.

But my new job as Executive Director is not about me, and I plan for "I" to be absent from my future notes to you.

Like every job at the Council, my job is about helping the children in our community to grow up safe, healthy and educated, so each child can find a path to success. It is about helping a child of poverty acting out in school because she lacks the glasses she needs to see her lessons. It is about helping a child of affluence find services to make the transition back to his family after treatment in a mental health facility. It is about helping a child arrested for a first offense after making a bad judgment about following the wrong people. It is about helping children caught between divorcing parents find stability and support. It is about finding the gaps children fall through in the systems serving them, and it is about helping the community find the will and the way to close those gaps.
Upcoming Events

Friday, April 17th
Myers Park H.S. Auditorium
6:00 p.m.


Join th e Arts & Sci ence Council and Council for Children's Rights for a special screening of Spiral Bound.  
Complimentary tickets are available upon request.  Contact Greg Schermbeck at [email protected]. 

 
May 9, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Founders Hall


Charlotte Wine & Food Weekend has traditionally been held every other year - but they are mixing it up a little and offering some great events on this "off" year. Big Bottles and Blues will be their biggest event of 2015. 

It's a great event that does more than just focus on wine and food.
Proceeds raised go to five local charities - and Council for Children's Rights is honored and grateful to be one of them. 

Approximately 100 wines will be available for sampling. The event includes live and silent auctions, lots of great live blues and a several ticket levels options.  Read more here


Our thanks to Charlotte Food and Wine Weekend. 
OST Professional Development Workshops

April 21-Organizational  Collaboration
May 14-Millennial Youth  
 

The cost for each session is $30. 


 Visit the Events Calendar at
detailed information on each event. 


Recent Events
Young Ambassadors Gather
The Young Ambassador's Group hosted its annual March Madness for Children on March 26th. If you are interested in learning more about this terrific group of young professionals check out their Facebook page. 



CFCR at The Relatives for Robert's Walk and Festival 
The Council enjoyed spending time with our friends at The Relatives in March at a street festival commemorating National Safe Place Month.  Our building, the Children and Family Services Center, is a designated Safe Place. 



April is Child Abuse Awareness Month 
CFCR Joins Local Efforts to 
Build Prevention Awareness
Since 1983, April has been designated Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month. Now in its third year, the Mecklenburg Child Abuse Prevention Team, made up of representatives from a dozen child-serving agencies, has joined forces to create and promote a public awareness campaign around this critical issue. LuAnn Ritsema, the Council's Director of Communication and Marketing, co-chairs the team this year.

Bob Simmons & Board Chair Ed O'Keefe at the press conference
The focus of the group's effort is on the importance of prevention and on efforts, public policies and resources that support families and help to insure the abuse and neglect never occurs.

CFCR Executive Director Bob Simmons opened the group's April 2 press conference at the Government Center, noting that "while the greatest harm from child abuse and neglect falls on the children who are hurt, the damage flows throughout our community. Child abuse and neglect strain our healthcare, education and court systems. Child abuse and neglect damage our community's quality of life and economic prosperity. Working together to assure that children grow up in safe and stable homes and neighborhoods is one of the best ways we can assure a positive future for our children, our county and our state. "

EVENTS PLANNED

A number of events have been planned for the month: the Duke Energy building was lit up blue on April 1st to kick off the campaign, at the press conference on April 2nd a joint city/county proclamation was read and a pinwheel garden was planted on the plaza; appreciation breakfasts, generously donated by Krispy Kreme, are being delivered to social workers and CMPD officers who work on child abuse cases; prevention is the theme of April's Food for Thought hosted by Mecklenburg Ministries; a wine tasting will be held to benefit the work of the Prevention Team at The Wine Vault, and an extensive social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter has been designed to expand awareness and share resources.  Details on this can be found  here.

PINWHEELS FOR PREVENTION

Pinwheel Garden planting One symbol of child abuse prevention focus is the pinwheel. Shining in the sun, the pinwheel is reflective of the bright future all children deserve and the belief that getting it right early is less costly than trying to fix it later. The team has created a virtual  #PassThePinwheel campaign on Facebook and Twitter to expand awareness of the issue and resources for prevention.

Throughout the month CMS schools will offer special lessons for grades 1 - 3 designed by district staff. These lesson plans are available at our web site. Secondary school children can participate in our social media #PassThePinwheel.  And 40 elementary and middle schools will be chosen by lottery to receive a pinwheel garden kit complete with signage for pinwheel gardens on site.  

LEARN MORE, FIND RESOURCES, GET INVOLVED:

Facebook: Team page with daily updates
Twitter:  Team page, hastags #CAPMonth #Passthepinwheel
Online:  Web site page with lots of resources, logos, calendar of events and other helpful links.

FINALLY.....

It's the Law:  By law, any person in North Carolina who has cause to suspect that a child is being abused or neglected has an obligation to report the abuse.
 
Mecklenburg County 24-hour hotline: 704-336-CARE (2273)
Join Us for Spiral Bound!
Film Shows Power of Arts to Change Lives
Spiral Bound, a feature-length documentary that follows a group of high school students in the Arts & Science Council's (ASC) Studio 345 program and education scholars from Davidson College in their search for social justice in the education system, will be shown at 6 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Myers Park High School Auditorium. The screening is co-hosted by the ASC and Council for Children's Rights. 
 
The 60-minute film tracks the students' exploration of the education system, that system's too frequent failure to reach some of the most at-risk public school children and how the arts can be a solution for helping these children find success personally and in the classroom.
 
"If you want to know what the arts can do in the lives of young people, this film tells that story," said Dr. Barbara Ann Temple, ASC vice president of education and co-writer of Spiral Bound. "It shows very clearly the power of the arts and how they can motivate our students to go to school, stay in school, graduate and move on to pursue a world of possibilities."
 
"The Council has always supported and understood the value of programs like Studio 345. We hope this film can spark more interest in quality after school programs and encourage more people to learn how they can become more involved," says Greg Schermbeck, Director of Education Initiatives for the Council. 

This is a great event for the whole family. Food trucks will be on site prior to the screening. Senator Jeff Jackson and Representative Becky Carney, both big fans of the film, will be on hand to offer some introductory remarks.

To make it even easier to attend, complimentary tickets are now available upon request. Contact Greg Schermbeck for details.
More information about this event can be found at our events calendar. 


Last week, Rep. Marilyn Avila (R-Wake) announced the introduction of HB399, the Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act. This legislation would raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction, so that 16- and 17-year-olds who commit misdemeanors are handled in the juvenile system, not the adult criminal justice system. According to Rep. Avila, the lead bill sponsor, "'raising the age' is a win for our families, communities, and state finances." Council for Children's Rights supports Raise the Age legislation. Read more here.


Council for Children's Rights
 601 E. Fifth St., Suite 510, Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: 704-372-7961