The Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates is sponsoring the first-ever online "Hands Across Illinois" event on Wednesday, April 29th at 12 p.m. The organization, which is made up of community volunteers who invest their time and efforts in protecting abused and neglected children around the state, plans to join digital hands to raise awareness and draw attention to child abuse.
According to DCFS statistics, more than 36,500 youths suffered from child abuse or neglect in 2019. CASA recruits, trains and support citizen-volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and communities.
The event, hosted by the Illinois CASA branch, will be the first of its kind on the Zoom video conferencing platform. The organization hopes to support its 32 local programs located throughout Illinois, while they advocate from a distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Hands Across Illinois" participants are encouraged to wear blue to demonstrate their support of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
For additional details visit http://tiny.cc/ILCASAHands to find out more about "Hands Across Illinois" or contact James McIntyre at 312-505-9226.
More Sentinel Stories

PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .

I’ve always known my Arab culture is worth celebrating.
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen. Read more . . .
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.
Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks