Bringing awareness to the month of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month was the mission of the second annual Walk for Prevention, a partnership between Pickens County Advocacy Center and The Parenting Place. This year’s one-mile walk began at Pickens First Baptist Church and ended at The Open Door restaurant the evening of Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Josh Holder, Executive Director of Pickens County Advocacy Center (PCAC), thanked the crowd for coming and thanked the board members and staff of PCAC and The Parenting Place. He also thanked Children’s Trust for providing t-shirts for the event, Pickens Police Chief Randal Beach, Brittany Roper, and Stetson Owen (owner of The Open Door). Holder added that several businesses on Main Street allowed the organizations to place pinwheel gardens, flags, and signs. He also thanked the City of Pickens, the Town of Central, and the City of Easley, all of whom issued proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Pickens Police Chief Randal Beach noted that the Easley Police Department was also represented at the Walk for Prevention, and then he introduced Pastor Bill Bennett, staff member at Clemson Presbyterian Church who is planting a church in Pickens, “to pray for this community and what this stands for, protection of children and other victims.”

“Thank y’all for letting me be here, and thank y’all for being here,” Bennett said. “Let’s pray.  Father, we come before you, and we thank you for this beautiful day that you’ve given us. Lord, this is great that we can come and do this, but it’s a sad thing that we have to, that we have to draw attention to the realization that precious children are hurt and damaged. Lord, you say that children are a blessing. And I pray that, as we bring attention to the evils that happen to these children, Lord, you would use this to remind people that evil goes on in the world, yet your light is greater than darkness. Cause us to bring your light and push back the darkness. Lord, we would love to see your goodness to remove this evil of child abuse and domestic violence. Lord, we know that won’t happen until you return, but, until then, may we stand up and say no to these sins. May we be people who come up beside these hurt and wounded people and support them and love them and point them to the hope that is found in Christ and Christ alone. Lord, watch over this group as they walk and cause the town to recognize we need to say no to this violence and this hurt of our children. We lay all these things at your feet. Thank you for your great love for us. And we pray these things in Christ’s name, Amen.”