A Letter to The Editor Emphasizes the Importance of 28 Hours of Hope

The 17th Annual 28 Hours of Hope is coming up on Thursday, March 26th at 5 am.  Brian and Todd will stay on the air for 28 consecutive hours and raise money and awareness to fight child abuse in Northern Colorado.  The event benefits three local charities that lead that charge, including the Larimer County Child Advocacy Center.

Mary Beth Swanson is the Executive Director of the LCCAC. She wrote the following letter to the editor, and emphasized just how important the 28 Hours of Hope is, because unfortunately, there are so many children suffering from abuse right in our own community. Her words really say it best, and we wanted to share them with you:

"It usually starts in late February, with Todd Harding and Brian Gary, otherwise known as K99’s Morning Guys, along with staff from the Namaqua Center, the Child Advocacy Center, and A Kid’s Place, gathered around a breakfast table.  There is the laughter of old friends, as well as a strong sense of camaraderie, despite the heaviness of our agencies’ day-to-day work with abused and neglected children across Northern Colorado.

The energy is palpable, and that is because we are about to embark on 28 Hours of HOPE, which begins at 5:00 am on March 26, and wraps up at 9:00 am on March 27.  Frankly, it is a whole lot of fun for all of us:  music, comedians, community support, and the much needed reminder that none of us are doing this work alone.

Unfortunately, it isn’t lost on any of us that despite our efforts, as agencies and as part of 28 Hours of Hope since 1998, there are still too many children going to bed hungry, cold, and scared tonight in Northern Colorado.  There are still more than a few kids, in our own backyards, clenching their eyes shut hoping that tonight there will be no yelling and no fighting, and that they will not be hurt before the sun comes up.  There are entirely too many children being broken by violence and aggression, day in and out, across our community.  How do we muster our voices to say things like: it takes a village, or be the voice, or we won’t stand for child abuse, when the reality is that it is still happening despite our best efforts?

It would be possible for each of us, in the field of child welfare, to sink into despair, and to wonder if our work was actually making a difference –except for two things. The first, for our three agencies, is the knowledge that when a child finally knocks on our respective doors, these doors swing wide open, and each child finds a strong adult ready to listen and to respond.  The second is the fact that at the crack of dawn on March 26, the Morning Guys will step up to their microphones, and let anyone who will listen know that these children, and our agencies, are not alone.  Because they believe that it does take a village and that it is their responsibility to be the voice. That they won’t stand for child abuse.

Please tune in to 28 Hours of Hope on K99, and be part of our ever growing village of people who are not afraid to speak out and speak up as long as even one child in our community is cold, hungry, and afraid tonight."