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August 17, 2004

State's first lady to walk for kids

By BONNA de la CRUZ -- Staff Writer

First lady of Tennessee Andrea Conte's quest to walk 600 miles across the Volunteer State will have a big payoff when she crosses the finish line in the hills of East Tennessee come May.

Already, sponsors have pledged more than $350,000, which will go to a cause close to Conte's heart: helping child abuse victims. In all, the wife of Gov. Phil Bredesen hopes to raise $1 million.

The trek by Conte, an avid marathon walker, begins Sept. 8 in Memphis and moves through Middle Tennessee in October. She will be walking in Nashville and Franklin on Oct. 27 and 28.

Beneficiaries of the fund raising will be the state's 25 child advocacy centers, including six in Nashville and surrounding counties. The locations of the centers will serve as start and finish lines for parts of the walk.

People can sign up to accompany Conte for as short a distance as a mile, walk the entire 10- to 15-mile route that day, or join her for several segments.

Child advocacy centers.

Last year, 6,000 Tennessee children were helped at advocacy centers that provided treatment and support for children who had been sexually abused or physically abused severely, Conte said.

''I invite concerned citizens in communities across the state to join me and walk to raise awareness about the problem of child abuse. Together, we can protect our state's greatest resource, our children,'' Conte said.

June Turner, executive director of the Nashville Child Advocacy Center, said the walk is bringing much-needed visibility to child advocacy centers.

''I plan to walk with her, but I'm certainly not in the league with the first lady,'' Turner said. Conte is known to walk a blistering pace.

The walk will help centers raise funds in their communities, Turner said.

''There are a lot of nonprofits in Nashville and we all work hard and work well together. This helps get us some name recognition. It helps the public become more aware of child abuse,'' Turner said.

The Nashville center opened in 1992 and has an annual budget of $477,000, about 65% of which is funded through state and federal grants and the rest with contributions from corporations, foundations and individuals, Turner said.

But the center, which does not charge fees to those it helps, could always use more, she said.

Last year, the Nashville center interviewed 469 children for allegations of sexual and severe physical abuse, Turner said. The children are referred to the center by the state Department of Children's Services.

Part of whatever amount the center gets from the walk will help it move from cramped quarters on West End Avenue early next year to two cottages at the campus of the old Tennessee Preparatory School, Turner said.

The idea for ''Andrea Walks for Tennessee's Children'' came to Conte, naturally, during a walk, spokeswoman Rachel Lassiter said.

In addition to raising money for existing centers, Conte wants to raise awareness for communities that are hoping to build their own centers, including Tullahoma, Dickson and Wilson counties, Lassiter said.

Thus far, 27 companies and organizations have signed up as contributors, including two that donated $50,000 each to be ''platinum sponsors'': BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

Other donors include Corrections Corporation of America, Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund, Verizon, Dell, FedEx, Fifth Third Bank, Pilot Travel Centers, the Tennessee Beef Council, TVA, the Tennessee Titans, Tennessee State Parks and the University of Memphis.

A spokesman with a good government group said it's important that the public be aware of who has contributed.

''It's a hard call. Obviously, she's doing a good thing, but the public should be aware that sometimes money comes from groups that might have other interests,'' said Dick Williams, state chairman of Common Cause.

''These groups are interested in public policy and state government. Whether there's anything wrong or not, that's for people to judge.''

A spokesman for BlueCross said the health insurance company wanted to get involved as a way to support the child advocacy centers and promote its own initiative of healthy living, called ''Walking Works.''

''We thought it was a good match all around,'' said Bill Steverson, BlueCross spokesman. ''This is something for fitness and health and lifestyle. It's not political.''

Lassiter from the governor's press office agreed politics is not involved.

Conte ''feels confident all organizations and companies are solely doing this for their interest and concern in helping child advocacy centers,'' Lassiter said. ''She's extremely thankful for their support.''

Money raised through sponsors and other contributions will go to the non-profit Tennessee Chapter of Child Advocacy Centers, a 501(c)3 organization. The chapter will distribute funds after the walk to the child advocacy centers.

The $35 donations that walkers are asked to make will help defray the cost of the walk — expenses such as water bottles and T-shirts — with what's left going to the advocacy centers, Lassiter said.

Conte has long been involved in helping child abuse and other victims, primarily through a group she founded called You Have the Power, a Nashville-based nonprofit.

She put it together after she became a crime victim 16 years ago.

Conte was kidnapped and beaten by a man who dragged her into his car from a parking lot next to her business on White Bridge Road. She fled by jumping out the back door of the car.

That experience and going through the court system made her want to raise awareness about crime survivors and help prevent violence, she has said.

If you go

First lady Andrea Conte will be walking through Middle Tennessee in October. With a $35 contribution, people can sign up to walk with Conte for a short portion or the entire distance of the daily walk. Water stations and transportation will be provided.

Oct. 5-7: Clarksville-Springfield

Oct. 12-14: Springfield-Gallatin

Oct. 18-22: Lawrenceburg-Fayetteville

Oct. 27-28: Nashville-Franklin

To register, go to www.andreawalks.com. Details about meeting places and the length of the walks will be mailed to registrants and made available on the Web site later. For more information, call You Have the Power at 615-292-7027.

Posted by Nealus at August 17, 2004 08:32 PM

Comments

Six thousand in a year?

I had no idea of the extent of CSA in the US, that has shocked even me.

Here in the UK that amount would take fifty plus years. The way we treat our children in the UK is abysmal, the following makes pretty grim reading and could be triggering

http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1283510,00.html

Dan

Posted by: Dan at August 18, 2004 01:03 PM

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