Children’s Advocacy Center spreads Christmas cheer to child abuse victims

The Paluxy River Children’s Advocacy Center is spreading holiday cheer to those who need it the most.

The PRCAC provides services for children in Hood, Somervell and Erath counties under age 18 who are involved in a case related to sexual abuse and/or severe physical abuse, according to paluxyrivercac.org.

“A child's initial interaction with the Paluxy River Children's Advocacy Center is one of the worst days of their lives,” said Margaret Cohenour, executive director of the PRCAC. “In counseling they get to talk about the worst day of their life, so children are not normally happy or excited to be coming to the center.”

To give the children — or clients — of the center a Christmas they deserve, PRCAC provided 120 children from 60 families with a family fun box as part of its Client Christmas.

Family fun boxes consisted of board games, gift cards for family experiences like bowling, movies or the zoo, snacks, blankets, small toys for ages up to 17 and family activities like puzzles and crafts.

Children were greeted after their counseling session with a family fun box, hot chocolate, special cookies and candy canes.

“Getting to see them leave with a smile on their face is the best ever,” Cohenour said.

Approximately 50 of the children were identified as having additional needs and were not eligible for other programs. Cohenour said these children were classified as “angels” — a child who could use a little extra Christmas cheer this year.

"They may have fallen through the cracks,” Cohenour said. “We have many families who are not only raising their own children but have children they are raising for a variety of reasons. There are extended family members/guardians caring for children. Each family fun box averages around $150, while angels are usually higher.”

Donations were solicited by staff members, their friends and family members, word of mouth and social media.

Cohenour said the donors have shared with her how much they really enjoyed shopping for the family fun boxes and that they were “focused on promoting family fun together.”

Sesaly MacKinnon, family advocate and forensic interviewer of the PRCAC, said her favorite part of providing gifts at Christmas for the children and their families was “seeing the kids being able to come here and celebrate something that is not associated with their case, their trauma or story; (they can) just have fun.”