Prevent Child Abuse America Unveils Inaugural Tel-e-thon for America’s Children.

National child abuse prevention organization to offer twist on traditional telethon by conducting 30-hour event via Causes application on Facebook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO (April 18, 2011) – Prevent Child Abuse America, one of the nation’s leading child abuse prevention organizations, will unveil a new twist on a traditional telethons when it conducts the Tel-e-thon for America’s Children via the Causes application on Facebook. The event will take place from 12:00pm CDT on Tuesday, April 26, to 6:00pm CDT on Wednesday, April 27, in recognition of April’s designation as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Research shows that 90% of Americans are aware that child abuse is a serious issue. Therefore, the Tel-e-thon is designed to engage the public in a dialogue about child abuse prevention, highlight the many ways everyone can play a role – from getting educated on the issue to advocating for policy change to volunteering for charities that support children and families – and provide individuals with the opportunity to make one-time or recurring gifts to Prevent Child Abuse America. To achieve this, each hour (with the exception of 12:00 to 6:00am on April 27) will feature an interview with a special guest or a discussion topic for live chat on the Causes site on Facebook.

To participate in the Tel-e-thon, individuals should log into the Society Against Child Abuse page on the Causes application on Facebook, join if not a member and follow the conversation in the Bulletin section.

Among the special guests scheduled to participate are:

· Major motion picture director, James Gray (“Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night”)

· Co-author of the ground-breaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, Dr. Robert Anda

· Documentarian and child abuse survivor, Alexandra Dickson Gray

· Founder of the Promised Land Society and AwfulGrace.org, Bryan Specht

· Prevent Child Abuse America President and CEO James M. Hmurovich

· Prevent Child Abuse America Board Chair Christopher Greeley M.D., FAAP

· Prevent Child Abuse Florida Executive Director Christie Ferris

· Prevent Child Abuse Idaho Executive Director Roger Sherman

· Causes’ Director of Nonprofit Services Susan Gordon

· Christa Laukevicz and Evan Kalish, founders of the Society Against Child Abuse on Causes

· Recipients and providers of Healthy Families America direct program service

“For nearly 40 years Prevent Child Abuse America has been dedicated to healthy child development and child abuse prevention,“ said Hmurovich. “As we look to awaken the nation to the fact that we all have a role to play in preventing child abuse and neglect, we look forward to unveiling this new model and utilizing new technologies to continue engaging and activating people to take action on behalf of our nation’s children.”