Dine Out to Help Prevent Child Abuse April 29 in West Volusia

BEACON PHOTO/JEN HORTON
Tony's Pizza in DeLand — Of the 20 restaurants on the Dine Out to Help Prevent Child Abuse List, Tony's Pizza in DeLand represents West Volusia. Dine Out to Help Prevent Child Abuse will be Wednesday, April 29. Restaurants on the list have pledged a certain amount of their revenues that day to the Community Partnership for Children. To see a list of all the participating restaurants, visit Community Partnership for Children.

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Apr 23, 2009 - 8:38:18am

Some things really are win-win situations. On Wednesday, April 29, West Volusia residents who feel like going out for a good family meal can take advantage of one of those situations: Tony’s Pizza in DeLand is part of a countywide awareness-and-fundraising event for Community Partnership for Children called Dine Out to Help Prevent Child Abuse.

Jo Lynn Deal, chief development officer for Community Partnership for Children (CPC), talked about the agency and the fundraiser.

“Community Partnership for Children is an organization called upon to help children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned,” she said. “We are the agency that manages foster care for Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties.”

Under a contract with the State Department of Children and Families, CPC helps find safe and loving homes for children, temporary or long-term.

Currently, there are more than 1,200 children in foster care in the three counties the agency serves. Events such as Dine Out to Help Prevent Child Abuse raise awareness about foster care and child abuse, and also help the agency financially.

“We have been drastically affected by budget cuts,” Deal said. “We do fundraising to help support the programs.”

Tony’s Pizza will donate 10 percent of its April 29 sales to the foster-care agency. Deal is grateful to all the participating restaurants.

“It’s a really nice thing, what they do,” Deal said. “It’s a great way to help.”

Tony Kadriu, owner of Tony’s Pizza, at 146 W. New York Ave. in Downtown DeLand, said he is glad his restaurant can help Community Partnership for Children.

“It’s a good thing to do,” Kadriu said.

Several restaurants in East Volusia are also taking part in the benefit.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nationwide, in 2007:

• An estimated 794,000 children were the victims of child abuse

• 1,760 children died due to child abuse

• 75.7 percent of those children who died were under the age of 4.

For more information about Dine Out, including participating restaurants in East Volusia, or to learn more about Community Partnership for Children, visit online.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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