Jason McNeil

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"Lord, save little children.

You'd think the world would be ashamed to name such a day as Christmas for one of them and then go on in the same old way."

(from "Night of the Hunter" -- 1955, MGM Studios)

Christmastime has come and gone, and what we like to call "the most wonderful time of the year" has become just another memory collected in the back-issue catalog of our lives. The bright lights have come down, the tinsel is stored away, and half-dried pine trees, only recently adorned and welcomed into our homes, lie discarded and abandoned by the roadside. The weather is taking its annual turn for the worse, bringing that bitter midwinter wind that makes us turn up our collars and hunker down in our homes, locking out the cold, hard world while we huddle together for warmth and the Herculean labor of paying off the holiday bills. There's a tendency, now, to allow the milk of human kindness, so recently and freely bequeathed upon our fellow man, to run dry in the post-Christmas crash.

Human need, however, is never a seasonal thing, and it remains important, now more than ever, to never forget the folks who are out there fighting the good fight, through warm seasons and cold. Perhaps first and foremost in our thoughts should be those who spend their days and nights protecting children.

According to Janice Dinkins Davidson, executive director for the Children's Advocacy Center, the organization's efforts to prevent child abuse in the Roanoke Valley is one of the utmost importance because "the protection and safety of children is paramount to both the community and to the children themselves." It's a struggle to which Davidson has committed her life.

A genuinely funny woman with a quick wit and an infectious laugh, Davidson has a passion for child protection that quickly comes to the fore as she enthusiastically describes the center's myriad services and activities.

"For example," she said, "when a child has been -- or may have been -- abused, the process of being interviewed and evaluated by strangers can be very scary. We provide a child-friendly interview facility to make it easier for everyone involved to get through that process so the case can progress."

In addition to providing a kid-friendly refuge from the double whammy of being yanked from an unhealthy, but familiar, environment, the center also battles abuse on other fronts, including acting in a coordinating capacity among various organizations -- sort of a central hub for those on the front lines of the battle against child abuse.

"We work with social services and various police departments, schools, hospitals and mental heath programs," Davidson said. "We not only work and track cases; part of our function is to provide ongoing training for police officers and social workers and teachers -- even parents and kids. We go out to various sites and into schools, to provide seminars for the adults, and help educate children about abuse and what they can do if they're experiencing it themselves, with puppet shows and kid-friendly mediums like that."

Unfortunately, good will, energy and boatloads of love will get a group only so far, and then all its good work is going to need a bit of money to continue. That is where you and I come in. Don't worry, though; this will be fun.

On Jan. 28, Monkey Fuzz is playing at 419 West, with portions of the proceeds going to support the Children's Advocacy Center. More bands and more shows are to follow, as part of the center's "Goddess on the Go ( ... to prevent child abuse)" concert series. Come on down, catch a show and warm yourself with a bit of good times for a good cause.

Davidson said, "When I got involved with this organization, I knew we could make both the world and children's lives better."

For information about the Children's Advocacy Center or upcoming fundraising concerts, go to www.cacroanoke.org or call 344-3579.