The Child Abuse Prevention Council of York County held the 16th annual “Private Gardens of the Kennebunks” garden tour July 17. This year more than 1,000 participants purchased tickets to support the programs at the council.

The council thanks each garden owner who volunteered to have their garden on display. These individuals are to be commended for their dedication to children with the many hours they spent preparing their masterpieces. Each garden with its own design attracted participants from all over New England.

Paul Parent is applauded for advertising the tour on his radio show. This year the council pre-sold a record of 400 tickets. Paul and his family also spent hours preparing their garden for the tour and we greatly appreciated support.

To our sponsors, Estabrook’s Color Spot, Digital Research Inc., Libby, O’Brien, Kingsley and Champion LLC, Genest Concrete Works, Inc., Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, Captain Lord Mansion, Drs. Kerry and Mary Ellen Connell, Lucas on 9 and Kennebunk Center for Dentistry, we sincerely appreciate your support.

To the volunteers who prepared the materials days before the event; those who sold tickets or welcomed participants at the individual gardens and chairmen Carolyn Broad, Maureen Raiter and Jane Smith, we could not have been prepared without your commitment.

To the neighbors of the garden owners, thank you for your patience. As a community, you may never know what your contribution to the council provides to the children in York County. As staff, we see the evaluations that are returned from the children after each program. On the evaluation for “Break the Silence” a fifth grade program, a question reads: “What did you learn from this lesson that you didn’t know before the presentation?” A young girl replied, “That other kids have been abused the same way as me.”

We cannot forget the children in York County. Thank you to all of you that participated in the garden tour this year – you are helping children to be free from abuse and free to grow.

Laurie DuPaul

Executive director, Child Abuse Prevention Council of York County