July 2020 Newsletter from the CAC

Dear Friends,

I hope you and your family are doing well. Reports of child abuse continue to be frighteningly low here in Hampshire County and around the country. We are anxious to have kids back in school with teachers and trusted adults. Recently, I had an opportunity to talk with two school-based social workers, Andrea McCallum (Easthampton Public Schools) and Abbey Tenczar (Chicopee Public Schools) to discuss the unique parenting challenges that we are facing this summer. This four-part conversation can be seen on our website www.cachampshire.org or via Facebook. Our wide-ranging discussion covers everything from stressors to strategies to self-care. Supporting parents is key to helping kids!

I am also scheduling individual tours of the CAC for those of you who have yet to visit our house. If you are interested in coming to see where your donations are put into action, email to set up a time to visit. Just bring your mask and let me show you around!

I want to give a big shout out to the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts for their generous support. Thanks to them, we can extend our community outreach and raise awareness of the crisis in child-safety during this time. We are extraordinarily lucky to have them supporting non-profit organizations like ours throughout the region.

Stay safe everyone and thank you for your support.

All my best,

Kara

Kara McElhone

Executive Director

Children's Advocacy Center of Hampshire County