As the leader for Greenville’s Child Abuse Prevention Month activities, Greenville First Steps held its third annual Walk for Prevention April 24. Participants walked from the First Baptist Church to the Julie Valentine Memorial in Cleveland Park, where all of them planted their individual pinwheels to form a large garden. Neil White, who tells the stories of Children’s Trust, attended the event.
GREENVILLE – A sea of blue covered the Swamp Rabbit Trail on a brilliant sunny day the last Sunday in April.
The 730 walkers – men, women, children and even an assortment of dogs – wore their bright blue T-shirts as they came together to raise funds and awareness while showing their commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect at the Walk for Prevention.
Derek Lewis, the executive director for Greenville First Steps, looked at the walkers as they gathered near the registration table at First Baptist Church before the event’s start and marveled at the shared passion that continues to grow for one of the state’s biggest events during Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“What’s important for us is giving people an opportunity to get together and celebrate the things families do every day to help reduce abuse in their communities. There’s a real need for social connections that adults and parents need to have with other adults and parents,” Lewis said. “Seeing families walk together down the trail, plant a pinwheel garden and then walk back really embodies that whole idea of providing social opportunities for them to spend time together.”
The walkers brought that unifying spirit to the event, as they happily mingled before the walk began. Krista Martin, a social worker by trade, and her 6-year-old son Liam first heard about the walk a few years ago as members of First Baptist.
“We’ve been walking ever since,” Martin said. “Taking care of the children in our communities is a really important thing for us as a church family and for me personally. I want to make the world for a better place for my little guy.”
The involvement of so many children at the event is a highlight for Shauna Galloway-Williams, the executive director at the Julie Valentine Center, which has a mission of stopping sexual violence and child abuse and the impact of these crimes through prevention, investigation, collaboration, treatment and advocacy. The walk finished at Cleveland Park’s Julie Valentine Memorial, named for the days-old baby who was a victim of fatal child abuse and abandonment and has become Greenville County’s symbol for child abuse prevention.
“That’s a really cool sight to see all the kids planting pinwheels in front of our memorial,” Galloway-Williams said.
Shauna Galloway-Williams takes a look at the pinwheels planted by walkers.
Pinwheels serve as the national symbol for the prevention of child abuse, and Greenville, along with the rest of the Upstate, especially embraces the annual Pinwheel for Prevention project. Lewis estimated there are hundreds of locations all over Greenville County where pinwheels are planted.
Greenville First Steps is one of 20 partners across the state in a new network formed this year by Children’s Trust, home to Prevent Child Abuse South Carolina. This group of Prevention Partners stand together as a strong, united voice advocating for prevention in both April and throughout the
Derek Lewis and son William
“Greenville First Steps sets the example of what we’d like to see all communities doing for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Events like the walk offer an easy way for people to get involved and raise awareness for the important issue of child abuse prevention,” Michael Shirley, Children’s Trust community prevention coordinator, said. “We believe that like-minded organizations can make a greater impact when we’re all working together toward the same goals.”
The walkers completely filled the scenic Swamp Rabbit Trail through the downtown neighborhood as they made the one-mile trek to Cleveland Park. The sight of so much support served as inspiration to people like Mark Deer, who works for the Department of Social Services in the Upstate area.
“It’s an awesome thing to see that so many people care and also recognize abuse and neglect as a concern,” Deer said. “I feel like there’s a part of our society that doesn’t realize this is happening so these types of events bring it to the forefront. That’s how we can move forward and prevent child abuse.”
Rolyn Rollins and her 6-year-old daughter Lucy planted their pinwheels after arriving at the memorial. They hold a strong belief in the event’s message.
“Lucy walked last year with her dad, and I was unable to come,” Rollins said. “She remembered it and wanted to come back. I have three children and we talked about why we’re doing this walk so they understand the importance of child abuse prevention as well.”
Lewis continues to encounter these affirmations as the walk grows larger every year. He hears the word spreading, and he is thrilled to live in such an engaged community.
“In the beginning, we really had to make an effort to reach out to folks and convince them that they wanted to participate,” Lewis said. “Now every year we’ll get more and more calls saying, ‘I heard about your event. How do I help?’ That’s what is exciting. People see the campaign and think about ways they can get connected.”
