DENVER—The Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect will partner with several Denver organizations to hold its first telephone fundraiser Feb. 9.

Led by Kempe Board Member Patrice Gendelman, the radiothon will feature volunteer students taking donations for the foundation, which supports The Kempe Center. The center treats abused children, trains professionals and conducts research to ensure a healthy and hopeful future for innocent victims.

Student volunteers from the DECA club at Cherry Creek High School will staff the phones from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as distribute flyers about the event throughout the community. Radio commercials encouraging supporters to call 303-800-0535 to make a pledge on Feb. 9 will air on KOSI 101. Advance pledges can be made by calling the foundation at 303-864-5311.

The event is being held on the 40^th day of 2012 to honor the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of The Kempe Center by Dr. C. Henry Kempe.

“A most fitting day to hold a fundraiser,” Gendelman said. “We’d be grateful for donations of $40, $400, $4,000 or any denomination to pay tribute to 40 years of healing abused and neglected children.” 

Gendelman said engaging students to help support other young people is an idea that’s been percolating in her mind since she joined the Kempe board in 2011. Gendelman is the author of the successful “Hannah Rose Knows” e-book series. The stories written for children pre-school age and up are designed to encourage, enlighten and empower children. 

“It was the occasion of the Kempe Center’s 40th Anniversary that inspired me to invite students from the DECA program at Cherry Creek High School to take the idea of young people supporting the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect and put it into practice,” Gendelman said. “You are never too young to practice philanthropy.”

Local businesses in Englewood and areas near Cherry Creek High School are stepping up with their own promotional efforts to support the event, including IP5280, which will provide phone services. The cloud-based global communications provider specializes in converged IP voice, video and data services for businesses across Colorado. IP5280 supports the efforts of The Kempe Foundation throughout the year, including an annual “Climbing for Kids” fundraiser each summer.

The Kempe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1976, provides the education, advocacy and fundraising support for the work of The Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Headquartered in Colorado, The Kempe Center is recognized as a world leader in child abuse treatment programs and for more than 40 years has been at the forefront in the fight against child abuse. For more information, visit www.kempe.org.

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