Blue River Services, Inc. held its second annual Color Walk for Children and Families April 27 at Buffalo Trace Park in Palmyra. The event raised $2,500 for the Department of Children’s Services and its programs serving Harrison and Washington Counties.

As the 160 attendees gathered, guest speaker Gregory Brodfehrer, Family Case Manager for the Indiana Department of Child Services, recognized April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and its nationwide symbol – the pinwheel. He then led the group in planting a garden of pinwheels at the park to help raise awareness of community efforts to stop child abuse and neglect.

The event has become a way to promote these important efforts while bringing families together for a day of fun, says Marija Zink, Outreach Coordinator for Children’s Services at Blue River Services, Inc., who planned the event.

“With little opportunities in our area for families to engage in community events, it is important to provide an affordable opportunity to do something fun and active with the whole family,” Zink said. “Of course, we would not have been successful without the support of local businesses and community members.”

Blue River Services would like to thank First Harrison Bank, Heaven Sent Gifts, Smith Animal Hospital, Links Clothing, Life Springs Health Systems, Miller and Sons Lawn Care, Affordable Tax Income, Conrad’s Transmission, Kent Java Bar, El Nopalito, Edward Jones Investments, Centra Credit Union, BR Grafix, Regions Bank, Jim Sieber, and Christina Tomey for their support that helped make this year’s event a success.

As part of the event, other organizations that serve the community attended to provide information about available resources. Thank you Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Harrison County Safe Kids, Harrison County Department of Natural Resources, Harrison County Department of Children’s Services, Harrison County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), New Hope Services, Indiana Anthem Medicaid, Harrison County WIC, Covering Kids and Families of Indiana, Community Action of Southern Indiana, and Hoosier Hills PACT for bringing valuable information to our community members.

And a special thank you for the Holy Smokers from the Palmyra United Methodist Church for cooking up some delicious food!