The numbers are staggering and shameful.
Some 1,931 reports of child abuse and neglect were reported to law enforcement and child welfare agencies in Iredell County last year.Investigators confirmed abuse or neglect in 700 of these cases.
Today, you can join members of Exchange/SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), the Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont and others in a ceremony to call attention to this disturbing trend.
At 5:30 p.m. today at the Iredell County Government Center, 300 children will hold up a paper chain containing a single link marking each child victim in our community. Then, in a symbolic gesture designed to stir the community to action, they will break the chain. Iredell is home to several nonprofits, including SCAN and the Boys & Girls Club, and government agencies dedicated to protecting children and bringing those who victimize them to justice.
We applaud these groups for their ongoing efforts and for bringing this problem to the community’s attention.
But they can’t do it alone. All of us have a shared responsibility to look out for the smallest, most fragile members of our community.
Today’s ceremony offers a good opportunity to start doing your part.
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