April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Brown County Child Welfare Board is now accepting entries for their annual poster contest.  This year’s contest has a theme of “Stand Up for Children!”

Students kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to enter the contest, limit one poster entry per person.  Posters can be any size and any medium, including photos or computer generated art.  Posters will not be returned to students.  Entries must be labeled in pencil, on a back corner of the poster and include student’s full name, parent’s name, phone number, school grade and school name.  All entries are to be turned in to Heartland Mall and are due by April 10th.

Winners will be awarded cash prizes of on Saturday, April 18th at 2:45 p.m.  Entries will be divided into categories of K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades, 6th-8th grades, and 9th-12th grades.  1st and 2nd places will be awarded in each age group and a grand prize winner will be selected from 1st place winners.  1st place will receive $50 cash, 2nd place $25, and the overall Grand Prize winner will receive an additional $50.

The public is invited to attend a special event that same day, from 12:00 noon – 3:00 p.m. which will feature free children’s activities, the poster contest and more.

Each year, nearly 200,000 children in Texas are reported as abused or neglected.  Child abuse prevention is a community responsibility.  Please join the Brown County Child Welfare Board as they help raise awareness at a local level.  As children are encouraged to use their artistic abilities to create posters as entries to the contest, the board hopes that parents, guardians and teachers will use this opportunity to talk to their children/students about child abuse and encourage them to participate in the poster contest.