RADIOTHON TO END CHILD ABUSE WILL BE APRIL 14

The Missouri Chapter of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse will conduct its second annual Radiothon To End Child Abuse April 14 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the West Park Mall. The event will air on KCGQ 99.3 FM.

Lucia Erikson-Kincheloe, executive director, and Jan Meyer, immediate past president, were in Cape Girardeau recently to promote their organization. The Missouri chapter started in 1987 with the mission to prevent child abuse in any form.

Money raised through the radiothon will go towards educating parents about child abuse, home visits to high-risk parents and other National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse programs.

The organization has financial ties to the Cape Girardeau area through Procter & Gamble. State Rep. Mary Kasten serves as an adviser, and Carol Sparkman is a former board member.

Erikson-Kincheloe said the latest statistics show at least 500 children are victims of child abuse in Missouri each year. They include children who have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused or physically, medically or educationally neglected.

"When someone is isolated from a social system or family unit and is under a lot of stress, the likelihood of that person abusing a child is increased," Erikson-Kincheloe said. "If a person identifies himself in that high-risk category, he should reach out to someone he trusts and talk about the stress he is under."

She added that people who abuse are ashamed of what they do or are in denial. They fail to seek the help they need until law enforcement officials become involved.

For more information about child abuse or to help the Missouri Chapter of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, call 1-800-END IT NOW.