Last November, the Hubbard Radio – Alexandria staff took a stand against child abuse. Literally! We partnered with Prairie Archery in Parkers Prairie, borrowed a deer stand and set it up in the Elden’s Fresh Foods parking lot. We had 12 hours to reach our goal of raising the critical funds to go towards child abuse prevention. During the telethon, we heard personal testimony as well as the testimonies from staff at FamilyWise Services. FamilyWise helps serve communities across Minnesota with services and resources to protect children in our state.

During our radiothon, we also broadcasted from the deer stand. Chelsea Lee would not come down until the goal was met! The stand was up from 7am on December 3rd, with temps in the 30s outside and 54 degrees inside the stand.  By 7pm, twelve solid hours later, we were just shy of the $25,000 mark, but were still blown away at the generosity of the community!

We were incredibly humbled when FamilyWise let us know last month that we’d be a Pinwheel recipient for these efforts. We were one of 18 organizations recognized for this award! Thank you!!

In a recent Facebook post from FamilyWise Services, “Hubbard Radio Alexandria  is recognized for creatively approaching the Alexandria Radiothon to End Child Abuse during the pandemic by “taking a stand” against child abuse, broadcasting from a deer stand in town to bring increased visibility to the issue and raising hundreds of dollars in donations from passersby.”

Here is their article with all the great recipients in our state!!

FamilyWise Services Recognizes Pinwheel for Prevention Award Winners during Child Abuse Prevention Month

Award program is one component FamilyWise’s public education campaign on child abuse prevention during April

 April 12, 2021 (Minneapolis, MN) — April is national Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month. In Minnesota, FamilyWise Services is the lead agency for child abuse prevention and the home of Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota following its 2020 merger with Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC).  We share resources with partners, expand access to services, and balance conditions for positive childhood experiences to enrich every community and support parents and caregivers.

• Bellis for leading the Stronger Together pilot program which supports women whose children are parented by others. They have built a coalition of supporting agencies to engage in this needed work including Tubman, Lutheran Social Services, Washington County, Hennepin County, Scott County, and others.
• MENTOR Minnesota helps create the best practices for mentor programs to foster long-lasting, positive experiences for young people. High quality mentoring helps young people (mentees) reach their potential and helps mentees have positive outcomes in life. Research shows that if mentees that have a caring adult in their life are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and have less mental health struggles, and have better longer-term health.
• Hennepin County Library (Arvonne Fraser Library) for supporting the love of learning and reading which promotes healthy family relationships and powerful positive play. Librarians created literacy kits for child protection agencies and community partners during COVID.
• Ramsey County Parent Support Outreach Program (PSOP) and In Home Parent Education for helping families be self-sufficient in their communities and keeping children and families safe by offering greater access to parent education programs.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota for developing resilience programs and initiatives to educate and bring awareness to how adversities early in life can affect a person’s life course. Blue Cross has been assisting families, communities, organizations and agencies to offer and access high-quality, equitable and culturally inclusive healthcare.
• Stevens County Family Services for working to create a bilingual website to showcase the resources, programs, and activities available in their county. They will be publicizing this resource as part of a campaign to increase awareness of and prevent adverse childhood experiences.
• Leech Lake Manidoo Ningadoodem (Family Spirit) Program for delivering the largest, most rigorous, and only evidence-based home-visiting program designed specifically for Native American families. It is used to support new parents in a culturally-affirming way. The program is intentionally delivered by Native American paraprofessionals as a core strategy to support young, Native parents from pregnancy to 3 years post-partum.
• Robbinsdale Family Services Collaborative for initiatives that bring in multi-disciplinary perspectives for raising awareness regarding neurobiology, epigenetics, and adverse childhood experiences. This is a community-driven program that includes a Community Resilience Plan.
• FR. Bigelow Foundation and St. Paul Foundation for prioritizing funding for an initiative to share public health information with Black and immigrant communities. This initiative was focused on parents, community members and those effected most by adverse childhood experience and bringing these vital and diverse voices and cultures into the conversation about health families and communities.
• Beltrami Area Resiliency Team for uniting a network of community members to identify and implement strategies that will result in a healthier, more resilient community for all – with an intentional focus on listening to voices that are not always at the decision-making tables.
• Minnesota Department of Human Services – Children’s Mental Health Division for the prevention efforts of Systems of Care & the Children’s Mental Health & Family Services Collaboratives across the state of Minnesota. The mission of the Collaboratives is to coordinate and integrate resources and services for children, youth and families who face complex problems and are involved with multiple service systems, with a focus on offering community-based, culturally and linguistically competent services and supports.
• Minnesota Department of Health – Injury and Violence Prevention Section (IVPS) for programs that help reduce the risk of injury and violence. The department supports and convenes a large network of community partners across the state of Minnesota who are committed to violence prevention and provides opportunities to engage in deeper learning, promote culturally responsive resources, and share prevention resources.
• Minnesota Department of Health – Mental Health Promotion for their Mental Wellbeing and Resilience learning community of practice which spotlights strategies, practices and programs across the state that promote mental well-being and resilience each month.
• University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development for innovative and relevant programming that teaches families and those who serve families to make informed decisions leading to greater health, resilience and well-being. As a result of their programs, Minnesota families — no matter their makeup, structure, or place in life — possess the knowledge and skills to create resilient, healthy, and secure futures.
• Regional Prevention Coordinators for working within a system of support services for people and organizations to engage in addressing the root causes of substance abuse. They help communities figure out where to begin, who should be at the table for these community resilience conversations, creating a plan, putting the plan into action, and helping to figure out what is working.
• Crow Wing County Child Protection Team for taking the lead on the annual Brainerd Radiothon to End Child Abuse, answering pledge lines for over 11 hours, entering nearly 400 pledges into a new online pledge system, and ultimately helping to raise awareness and funds for child abuse prevention efforts.
• Hubbard Radio Alexandria for creatively approaching the Alexandria Radiothon to End Child Abuse during the pandemic by “taking a stand” against child abuse, broadcasting from a deer stand in town to bring increased visibility to the issue and raising hundreds of dollars in donations from passersby.
• Fond du Lac Department of Social Services – for providing Circles of Security and Positive Parenting classes to parents virtually throughout the pandemic to accommodate parents’ busy schedules.