'Child safety' to be topic of presentation at Storrs Library

Date: 8/20/2012

LONGMEADOW — Child safety advocate Kathy Picard will be the guest speaker at the Soroptimist meeting at the Storrs Library on Aug. 22.

Picard, an award winning child advocate, will present a "Conversation About Child Safety" Anyone interested in keeping children safe should attend this event presented by Soroptimist International of the Northeastern Region.

Picard is a survivor of child sexual abuse and is a speaker working to raise the awareness in all areas of child safety. She is a recipient of the 2006 Unsung Heroine of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and has received a Governor's Citation from Governor Deval Patrick in 2008. In 2010 she was honored at the State House in Boston by Magi and John Bish for the Massachusetts Missing Children's Day Award along with a State Senate Citation from Senator Gale Candaras. She spends her free time raising awareness in all areas of child safety at colleges, correctional facilities, police academies, and libraries.

"I have the ability to speak about sexual abuse since I am a survivor. Providing help should be endless and a top priority," Picard, who was born and raised in Springfield, said. "We have to educate today's children and raise the awareness of childhood sexual abuse. Some secrets are OK to keep but if it hurts the child then they need to tell someone. And it should be stressed to the children that it is not their fault. They shouldn't have to carry that guilt. We really need to start protecting the victims, the survivors and stop protecting the predators."

Picard and her husband, Gary will publish a book in early 2013 about her life as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. They believe it will be very helpful for anyone who has suffered from abuse in their life or who knows someone who is a survivor of abuse. The book will be a great asset in making people aware that childhood abuse is more widespread than people think.

Kathy Picard will share some of this story at the event sponsored by Soroptimist International of the Northeastern Region, an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. Soroptimist International has almost 90,000 members worldwide. The northeastern region consists of all of the New England states but currently in Massachusetts, there is only one club, SI of Haverhill-Merrimack Valley. A new club is being organized in the Pioneer Valley.

"There is a great need to extend our reach to enable more women and girls to realize their potential and to live their dreams," member Joan Merritt said. She noted that the local group would be participating in the Soroptimist Live Your Dream campaign and the Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Awards.

Live Your Dream is an online community that allows women to get involved right away and to help raise awareness of the Soroptimist mission while encouraging women from all walks of life to follow their dreams. Visit liveyourdream.org.

The Women's Opportunity Awards is Soroptimist's major program. The program assists women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and employment prospects. Each year, more than $1.5 million is disbursed through cash awards at various levels of the organization. $500 will be given in the Springfield area. The deadline for applications is Oct. 15.

"We are looking for women who want an opportunity where they can be involved, make a difference and work with others in order to give another woman a hand up," Merritt explained. "We need women who want to empower girls and young women to live their dreams."

Visit www.soroptimistner.org for more information or a Women's Opportunity Award application.

The meeting will be held on Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Betty Ann Low Meeting Room, at the Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St. Since space is limited, to reserve a spot or for further information or questions, contact Merritt at 860-642-1977 or email joanmerritt@charter.net.