#High5Drive campaign still paying off for North Star Child Advocacy Center

PARKERSBURG -- Greg Collins, executive director of North Star Child Advocacy Center, visited Williamstown Bank on Seventh Street in Parkersburg on Friday to see how North Star faired locally in what was a statewide campaign by the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network known as the #High5Drive.

Last year, 4,703 brave West Virginia kids walked through the doors of one of West Virginia's 21 Child Advocacy Centers following allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neglect. The West Virginia Child Advocacy Network asked all West Virginians to join the #High5Drive by donating $5 to give a High 5 to each one of those brave kids.

In Wood County at North Star, 618 kids were seen at the center in 2022, the highest number in the state. The goal was to get at least 618 hands to visually represent each of those brave kids and have the community write messages on them of hope and support. North Star's numbers include children from not only Wood County, but Ritchie, Wirt, Pleasants and Calhoun counties. Some children come to the center from other areas of the state as well when courtesy interviews for other centers or agencies are needed. However, 75% of the caseload is from Wood County/Parkersburg.

"This campaign was not about the money for us, as helpful as that will be. It was about the visual of seeing 618 hands displayed for each child we saw in 2022 that had an investigation taking place about possible neglect or abuse," said Collins. "We want to lift the veil off child abuse here at home and have people see what law enforcement, Child Protective Services and North Star is doing every day. I want everyone to stop looking away because it's uncomfortable. This is happening here and often pure evil. By our estimation backed by statewide statistics, we are only seeing one-third of what we should be," he said.

Williamstown Bank and president/CEO Sharon Anderson stepped up to be the official site for the High5Drive, using the bank's three branches to sell hands and promote awareness of child abuse.

"When Greg called and asked us to do this for them, I knew we had the team to pull it off and couldn't wait to get started," said Anderson. "As we discussed the terrible things that North Star is seeing with our communities' kids on a nearly daily basis, our employees became invested in helping make a difference in what is happening there. The employees at all three of our branches, the community and our friends at Kasasa and La Macchia Group made this campaign a success for North Star. I love what Williamstown Bank can do together as a team, and I love that they are truly interested in helping our abused children," she said.

At the announcement Friday morning, Williamstown Bank presented North Star CAC with $1,880 in cash that was received by each of the three branches in in-person contributions. According to the #High5Drive website for North Star, they have accumulated a total of 723 hands purchased for a total of $3,615, with still two days remaining in the campaign.

"To Sharon and her executive staff, thank you. To the bank employees who did this in addition to their regular duties, thank you. To Kasasa, La Macchia Group and our community, thank you," said Collins. "Seeing the messages that were written on the hands this morning was heartwarming and often emotional. I hope we can continue to educate people on all the child abuse that is occurring here and the frequency in which it happens. You can ignore it because it's painful to think about, but that doesn't mean it's not happening," concludes Collins.

For more information, visit northstarcac.org or text "CHILDREN" to 26989 for information on how you can help an abused child.