Volunteer and Leadership Services at UTSA hosted “Cardboard Kids,” an event aimed at raising awareness about child abuse. The event was a part of a larger campaign by ChildSafe, a non-profit organization based in Bexar County that “coordinates the efforts of child protection staff, law enforcement professionals, family advocates, medical experts, and mental health clinicians for children and adolescents traumatized by sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, neglect, or exploitation.” 

According to Child Safe’s official website, Cardboard Kids is a “city-wide public awareness campaign” that was created to “draw attention to the pervasiveness of child abuse and the fact that every story is different and every child unique.”

Students decorated cardboard kids as a part of the event, and all of their submissions were on display in the Sombrilla on Thursday, April 7. 

Mark Ramirez, program coordinator of Volunteer and Leadership Services, explained what the cardboard kids represented.

“[Cardboard children] are here to represent children who have been abused and neglected. So, it’s just to bring attention to that social issue,” Ramirez said. “This is just to represent that population of children.”

More information about the campaign can be found at: https://www.childsafe-sa.org/CardboardKids/