SAN ANTONIO – If you see them, snap a photo and share it. That’s the idea behind ChildSafe’s cardboard kids campaign.
Each year, the child advocacy organization asks the community to decorate and display cardboard kids and then share them on social media using #cardboardkidsSA.
“The whole idea was to create a way to create awareness, but also make it so it was a little more palatable to talk about,” said Kim Abernethy, ChildSafe president and CEO. “Its hard to talk about child abuse.”
It's especially hard to talk about child sexual abuse, which are the kinds of cases ChildSafe handles most often. Statistically, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday, Abernethy said.
Cardboard kids began four years ago when ChildSafe handed out 6,000 across the city. This year, more than 76,000 were distributed.
“You know, 6,000 is impactful, but not really for a city this size,” Abernethy said. “But over 76,000 this year? People will really notice them.”
If you see a cardboard kid at a local business or while just taking a stroll around town, look on the back for instructions on how to spread the word.
Abernethy said the definition of success for this campaign is simple.
“We (want to) create huge awareness and (hope) our community says, ‘You know what? We all need to be involved in this, and we really want to figure out and work together to stop child abuse in San Antonio,’” she said.
Cardboard kids will be on display during the month of April, which is Child Abuse Awareness Month.
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