A local resident’s selfless giving to a child will be recognized
in April, an honor for which the Child Welfare Commission is
seeking nominations.
A local resident’s selfless giving to a child will be recognized in April, an honor for which the Child Welfare Commission is seeking nominations.
Each year the CWC gives the Blue Ribbon Award – a nationwide symbol for prevention of child abuse – to a person who has volunteered to help a child through a difficult situation. There is also a national CWC and Blue Ribbon Award covering all 50 states.
The CWC will present the award at the county Board of Supervisors meeting April 8.
“There’s so much hurt going on right now,” said Tabatha Boatwright of the CWC.
She said she hopes that by recognizing someone who volunteers for children, others will become motivated to also help kids in need. “Hopefully, it will filter down,” she said.
The CWC, which meets the first Thursday of each month, is a “sounding board for Proposition 10,” according to Boatwright. Prop. 10, passed by California voters in 1998, created the Children and Families First Commission to benefit early childhood health and development.
The CWC is made up of staff members from the county mental health and sheriff’s departments, Social Services and the Family Resources Center. “They come from all over,” Boatwright said.
Last year, an off-duty law enforcement officer won an award for helping a young girl in the Badlands walking along the roadside who “didn’t seem right,” Boatwright said. “It appeared she had been abused.”
It turned out that the girl had been shackled for days, and the off-duty officer called for help and waited by her side for hours.
The nomination form asks for a nominee’s specific qualifications for the Blue Ribbon Award. The commission will go over the forms and take a vote. The deadline for submitting a nomination is March 24 at 5 p.m.
For more information on the nomination forms or the organization, call Boatwright at 636-4180. The CWC office is located at 1111 San Felipe Road, suite 206.
