Preventing Child Abuse in Dutchess County —
With Your Help

From our humble home near Kreiger Elementary School in the City of Poughkeepsie, The Center has been making a lasting positive impact on the lives of local children since 1973. With continuing investment from our local communities, the dedicated staff at The Center is able to yield results by reaching more than 16,000 children, parents, teachers, and caregivers each year.

The Center partners with local schools, law enforcement agencies, and the Dutchess County Department of Social Services to protect our children, advocate on their behalf, and educate the community on how to prevent abuse.

Our Mission

We hope this website will help you learn about our programs and services; see the impact we are making in our communities (success stories, statistics, and newsletters); meet the people on our staff and board of directors; understand the devastating effects of abuse on children; learn how to stay connected (join our mailing list, join our Facebook group, or attend an upcoming event); and find out how you can help (volunteer or make a donation).

Thank you for your interest and for your investment in our local children. If there is any other information we can provide, or any way we can help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank You

Posted: 12/21/11
By Kathleen Murphy

Every year the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and those we serve, benefit from the generosity of hundreds of community members and organizations. Contributions come in many different forms. Volunteer hours, toys and teddy bears, skills and talents, kind words and acts and money.

We here at the Center want you to know how much it means not only to us, but to the children and families that we serve throughout the year. So instead of mentioning specific names, I would like to share with you some of the many acts of kindness we experienced throughout the year:

A local bank held a car wash for us on their day off; an area school held a walk-a-thon on a cold and windy day; a radio station held a toy and coat drive; several people donated money for our annual holiday appeal; local businesses sent us cookies; businesses and vendors offer us their services at no or reduced cost; volunteers helped teach personal safety to over 10,000 school age children in Dutchess County; area restaurants gave some of their days receipts to the Center for our first annual Restaurant Week; businesses and individuals donated hundreds of items for our annual silent and live auction; local foundations and organizations provided the Center with grants and support; youth were peers to other youth; over 350 individuals and businesses helped to make this years Annual Gala our most successful one to date; several items were donated for our annual tag sale; many families were adopted for the holidays by individuals and organizations; and some people said those kind words to us "Thank you!"

We cannot do what we do without all of you. I wanted to share this list with you because sometimes we all feel a little helpless when it comes to child abuse. Every single one of these kind acts has empowered a child. A child that has no name to you, but I guarantee that they know your heart. No, we may not be able to make those changes that shake the world, but we can do something that is needed more, we can change the life of a child!

We do not have to worry about doing or giving enough. If every person living in Dutchess County donated just one dollar to help a child, nearly $300,000 could be raised. It is the simple and small acts of kindness that adds up to those world shaking changes!

So, on behalf of the Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteers; THANK YOU for everything that you have done this year for the children of Dutchess County and we look forward to working with each and everyone of you in 2012 to achieve our vision of "zero child abuse in Dutchess County." And please remember; There Is No Excuse For Child Abuse!