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WAIC plans annual walk

The Inter-Mountain photo by Lydia Rhodes Jessie Massimino, Jennifer Johnson, Tekoa Jones, Karen Carper, Rebecca Vance, Renee Yokum and Margot Kubichek discuss plans for the First Friday Healing Through Music Walk.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Lydia Rhodes Jessie Massimino, Jennifer Johnson, Tekoa Jones, Karen Carper, Rebecca Vance, Renee Yokum and Margot Kubichek discuss plans for the First Friday Healing Through Music Walk.

ELKINS — Elkins Women’s Aid in Crisis will host its Healing Through Music Walk on May 5.

Participants will meet at the United Methodist Church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. The walk is slated to take place from 5-7 p.m. The walk will end at Elkins town square, where there will be speakers and performers.

The Healing Through Music Walk is an annual event put on by WAIC, but this year, Elkins Main Street will partner in the efforts. Elkins Main Street aims to bring publicity and business to downtown Elkins.

“We are partnering with Women’s Aid in Crisis, and these other organizations located in downtown Elkins,” Karen Carper, executive director of Elkins Main Street said. “We are proud to support them, but it is not our mainstream event. It is an opportunity for them, which we are pleased to provide.”

Other partners include: the Randolph County Family Resource Network, Youth Heath Services, the Randolph and Tucker County Children’s Advocacy Center, Marshall Markley with Child Protective Service and the Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The event is to raise awareness and promote hope for women, children and men. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate in the walk, officials said.

“Anybody is welcome. Anybody who has been a victim, knows a victim or anybody that wants to take a stand against violence of sexual assault and child abuse,” WAIC representative Renee Yokum said. “We want the community to take part and just scream that we aren’t putting up with this. We are making a change.”

The walk will include the Elkins Middle School Marching Band, bagpipers and many more city of Elkins organizations, Yokum said.

“Partnering with Elkins Main Street should make the event more effective,” Yokum said. “There will be pinwheels available that we will hand out for the people to carry. The pinwheel is the national symbol for child abuse prevention.”

Agencies across West Virginia all participate in Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Officials encourage all walk participants to wear the color blue, which is the national color for child abuse prevention.

For more information on the event, contact Elkins WAIC at 304-636-8433.

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