Hello,

Have you been to the 52^nd annual Indiana Flower and Patio show at the State Fairgrounds yet?   If you are still fighting the winter blues, this is a great way to step into Spring and lift your spirits.  We will take you there for a sneak peek of the show on my Noon Focus  Segment Tuesday.  I also got an “up-close” look at the show just a few days before “Opening Day” last week.  It is really a cool event.  You can get tips and information for all garden budgets from more than 250 outdoor living experts.  You will also see 29 different ‘Showcase Gardens’ from dozens of landscape artists.  These gardens are so beautiful and this year the gardens’ theme is “A Novel Idea”.  It is a nod to Indy Reads, a program that provides free tutoring to functionally illiterate adults.  You can donate books at collection bins at the Show, including K-6 student workbooks or teacher’s manuals, copies of the classics, children’s books bins, and all appropriate titles.   One of the gardens that I saw ‘in the making’ is so creative!  Its’ theme is the Wizard of Oz and you have to see how the landscape artists have incorporated the theme through their version of the yellow brick road, the Wicked Witch and Dorothy’s home – tossed around by a tornado – all in one little space.  It will be a show favorite. 

If you are like me, you will need all the help you can get if you are planning to make the outside of your home pretty this Spring and Summer.  I am known to kill even artificial plants:)  (How is that possible? Probably too much dust on them… smiles. )  I love to decorate the inside of my home and have done a lot of that on my own, but anytime I have headed outside to ‘decorate’, nothing survives:(.  How about you?  Do you have a green thumb?  If so, do you have any tips for keeping plants alive?  Which plants are most hardy?  What are the best perennials - something I wouldn’t have to plant every year?  Share some of your thoughts with people, who like me, can’t keep plants alive.  In the meantime, I am sure the Indiana Flower and Patio show experts could give all of us some great advice for being successful with landscaping and gardening.   The event runs through Sunday the 21^st.  Click here for more information.

Also this week on our Noon Focus segment, you can get some tips Wednesday on improving self-esteem – for you and your children – from “Carol the Coach”.  She’s a Life Coach and Marriage and Family Therapist who visits us monthly with great tips on various topics.  Thursday on Focus, see one of Israel’s premiere dance companies.  The world-class  Kibbutz Contemporary Dance company will perform in our studios.  We’ll tell you why they are in town and where you can see them perform for free.  And on Friday, find out how donating daffodils is helping fight cancer.

If you have any community issues, events or organizations that you would like for us to consider as a profile on Focus segments or on our Community Calendar, let me know.  Blog with me or e-mail me at acain@wthr.com.

Channel 13 is constantly involved in sponsoring various community campaigns.  We are a part of you and we want to do what we can to serve our community.  Right now, we are sponsoring a couple of big events that will fight cancer.  Do you know someone who has cancer or are you battling this sometimes devastating disease?  You might want to register for a Relay for Life event near you.  These are 24-hour walking vigils that remind people that cancer never sleeps.  You can form a team, raise money through pledges, and take turns walking around an area track.  This is the premiere worldwide fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  There will be more than 30 Relay for Life events in Central Indiana running from March through June. Consider walking in honor of someone you love with cancer or you can walk simply because you care.

WTHR Community Affairs has also been busy promoting one of the top-ten biggest Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” events in the nation.  More than 40,000 people walk or run in the annual “Race for the Cure” in downtown Indianapolis.  This is a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest, grass roots breast cancer movement.  It is an amazing ’sea of humanity’ – men, women and children – taking to the downtown streets to help end breast cancer forever.  When you walk, you raise money for breast cancer treatment, education and research here in Central Indiana and around the nation.  This year’s “Race for the Cure” takes place on Saturday, April 17th.  Click here to register to walk or run or volunteer.

We always like to hear from you! 

Take care,

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director

Hello,

Hope your New Year is going very well, as I get back to ‘blogging’ again.  I hope to hear from you in this New Year.  We are busy with several WTHR community campaigns right now – promoting events you can attend or events for which you can volunteer.   Please join with us in serving the community and making a difference in 2010. 

During Black History Month in February, we have been airing a weekly Noon Focus interview segment on African-American events, organizations or issues and we have produced special news series profiling the achievements of African-Americans locally and nationally.  Click here to go to our special Black History Month page which includes some of the stories, a list of celebrations and events you can attend in Central Indiana, and a host of sites profiling African-American achievements nationally.  

We are also helping promote a couple of big events that will fight cancer.  Do you know someone who has cancer or are you battling this sometimes devastating disease?  You might want to register for a Relay for Life event near you.  These are 24-hour walking vigils that remind people that cancer never sleeps.  You can form a team, raise money through pledges, and take turns walking around an area track.  This is the premiere worldwide fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  There will be more than 30 Relay for Life events in Central Indiana running from March through June. Consider walking in honor of someone you love with cancer or you can walk simply because you care.

WTHR Community Affairs has also been busy promoting one of the top-ten biggest Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” events in the nation.  More than 40,000 people walk or run in the annual “Race for the Cure” in downtown Indianapolis.  This is a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest, grass roots breast cancer movement.  It is an amazing ’sea of humanity’ – men, women and children – taking to the downtown streets to help end breast cancer forever.  When you walk, you raise money for breast cancer treatment, education and research here in Central Indiana and around the nation.  This year’s “Race for the Cure” takes place on Saturday, April 17th.  Click here to register to walk or run or volunteer.

Also, when you get a chance, join us Monday through Friday for our weekly Noon Focus interview segment which profiles community issues, events, and organizations.  If you have a community issue, event or organiztion that you think we should be talking about on Focus, please let us know!  We might pick your idea and do a Focus segment on it.

We have also started something new this year – the WTHR Cares Community Conversation.  We will feature a question or issue of the week and ask for your feedback.  We just want to start a conversation with our community, so that we can learn more about what matters to you on a host of topics – some just for ‘fun’, some more issues-oriented.  Click here to see this week’s question about the Olympics.

And do you have some questions about how to have a healthy relationship in the New Year?  Last month we invited Carol Juergensen-Sheets, a Marriage and Family Therapist and Personal Life Coach, to share some relationship advice for the New Year on our Noon Focus segment.  Our relationships with people we love are one of the most important things in our lives.   As I close today, hope you will listen to this advice from “Carol the Coach.”  And feel free to share with us what you do to make your relationships work.

Take care!

Angela Cain

TIPS FROM ‘CAROL THE COACH’ ON DEVELOPING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS:
Healthy relationships don’t just happen.  They require that you constantly invest your time, energy and effort into them. People often take their relationships for granted—until a problem occurs or until it’s too late.  As you look at your relationships, do you cultivate them? Some of my clients are proactive and look for ways to improve them.  However, more often I see clients who are discouraged because they have waited too long.  Take a look at these five characteristics for a healthy relationship to decide if you are working in the right areas:

ADMIRATION AND APPRECIATION: Do you verbalize your appreciation of your loved ones?  Do you identify daily at least one characteristic that you appreciate or admire?  People will enjoy their relationships with you if you recognize their strengths.  Make a point to compliment  those you care about daily. 

RESPECT: Everyone has different values and beliefs about people and about life.  Understandably, values come from your family of origin, religiosity or spirituality, educational structure, and political background.  Partners often marry because they complement each other, which can increase the likelihood of different values.  Teenagers often take on different values as a natural vehicle for the needed separation process.  It is important to find a common ground with others and respect their differences, even if you don’t agree with their basic values.  If you don’t respect your loved ones, it will lead to contempt.  Contempt is the number one behavior that leads to estrangement. 

COMMUNICATION: Is your communication positive or negative?  Do you spend a lot of time criticizing or affirming your family?  If you have a teenager or spouse, it is easy to get caught up in fear-based conversations that make you look controlling, argumentative or needy?  Everyone wants to be acknowledged for their thoughts, beliefs and values.   Basically, they want to be understood.  Communication infers speaking, but it is really about listening.  The next time you’re with a loved one, spend 75% of the time listening and reflecting back what you heard.  It will open up their desire to talk to you. 

 ENCOURAGEMENT: Do you encourage your loved ones?  Do you notice the effort and not the outcome?  This characteristic builds good self-esteem and is essential in promoting healthy relationships.  As you assess your family, find an area they are working on but haven’t yet perfected, and then notice their effort.  That means to verbally acknowledge that you know they are making progress.  It will enhance their feelings for you because it enhances their own sense of well-being. 

NEGOTIATION AND COMPROMISE: In all relationships, the art of developing good partnerships with people is the ability to negotiate and compromise.  You have to give a little to get a little. Evaluate your style and decide how well you practice this life skill.  People who have to have their way all of the time are no fun to be with.  If you are surrounded by this type of personality it’s time for you to learn assertiveness.  If you are this type of personality, it’s time to practice the art of give-and-take.  This may require that you seek the help of a mental health professional.

There are some great tools to help develop these characteristics further.  The more you put into your relationships, the more you will get out of them.  We all know that relationships are the essence of life!

Get more advice on various topics from “Carol the Coach” (Carol Juergensen Sheets) by clicking here.

It is one of the hardest things to maintain during the holidays…. our weight:).  Some studies have shown that we gain an average of 5 to 7 pounds during the holiday season.  How do you fight the battle of the bulge when you are eating at all of the office parties, family gatherings and holiday events?

On my Noon Focus interview segment, I received some tips from Jill Frame – a registered dietitian with the St. Francis Weight Loss Center.  The Center offers 12 ways to watch your waistline, in honor of the 12 days of Christmas. 

1. Take the focus off food. Instead of baking cookies with your children, create non-edible projects like wreaths, dough art decorations or a gingerbread house.

 2. Plan to maintain your weight over the holidays. Decide which treat is worth the calories, take a smaller portion, and savor every single bite.

3. Think ahead to make mealtimes less hurried. On a cold, wintery night, few things say comfort like a bowl of hot soup, paired with crusty, whole-grain bread. Start a pot simmering on the stove or in the slow cooker while you spend the day decorating the tree, addressing cards or doing any other holiday preparations. Add a piece of fruit and a cup of milk, and you have a well-balanced meal.

4. Experiment with seasonal produce to lighten up your meals. Consider chutneys as an accompaniment to meats, slices of pears or oranges in your salad, cranberries or dried fruits in rice pilaf, or apple sauce substituted for some of the fats in your baking. A little creativity can go a long way toward heightening taste and sneaking in your produce needs in your diet.

5. Plan for parties. Don’t starve yourself the day of the party so you can fill up on food that evening. If you eat normally throughout the day, you’re much less likely to overeat at the party.

6. Lighten up. Substitute spices and fresh herbs for seasoning rather than fat and salt.

7. Make exercise time play time. Enjoy an afternoon of football, sledding, ice skating or playing in the snow. Or even enjoy the holiday lights while taking a long evening walk.

8. Discover different dips. Who says dips have to be high-fat and joined by chips? Replace cream cheese with silken tofu, or experiment with dips made with nonfat cream cheese or sour cream. Pair with vegetable spears or baked pita chips.

9. Watch your appetizers. Limit high-fat choices such as fried chicken wings, miniature sausages and most cheeses. Choose fruits and vegetables instead.

10. Enjoy the mall. While shopping, stretch your legs and squeeze in some exercise in a warm, dry environment.

11. Be a happy host. Balance your famous cookies with healthier options. Grab a fruit or vegetable tray from the store. Be sure to send your leftovers home with guests.

12. Have a healthy holiday spirit. Cocktails, “real” eggnog and other holiday drinks quickly add up in calories. Alternatives include sparkling or hot apple cider, light eggnog or seltzer mixed with fruit juices.

With a little creativity, you can start the new year without quite as many pounds to lose come Jan. 1 – and might just find a new tradition in the process.

Now, if you have some holiday eating tips, share them with me.  We might even be able to share some of them on our air and give you credit, if you leave your name and location.

Also, if you have any community issues, events or organizations that you think we should profile on our Focus interview segment at Noon, please let me know.  We love to hear from you.

And join with Channel 13 this year to support the United Christmas Service campaign from United Way.  You can donate money, ‘adopt a family’ or buy a Channel 13 Sunrise Cookbook at any area Marsh or O’Malia’s store.  All proceeds benefit the United Christmas Service which gives money to families in need so that their children can enjoy the holidays.  Click here for more information.

Happy Holidays!!!

Take care,

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director

Hello,

More on ‘how to be happier’ in a moment, but first Channel 13 has wrapped up our longest community service campaign – the 23rd  annual “Bob Gregory Coats for Kids” campaign.  The need was so great this year in a tougher economy, that we worried about running out of coats when we gave them away on Saturday, October 10th, at the State Fairgrounds.  There were people in line who used to give to the “Coats for Kids” campaign.  This year, they were in need because of job losses.  We were blessed to be able to give free coats to most of the children who needed them.  We ran out of some sizes later in the day, but the biggest crowds had already come.   We gave away thousands of coats because of your generosity .   This year, you also helped by donating cash or checks at an Indianapolis Colts Game or online, through the Salvation Army, one of our campaign partners.  Thank you so much, Central Indiana, for caring about our kids.  Please join Tuchman Cleaners, the Salvation Army, Channel 13, and the Indianapolis Colts next year – on Labor Day – when we launch our 24th annual campaign.

This week on Focus, my Noon Community Interview Segment, we  profiled the Empty Bowls Dinner on Monday - a fundraiser at North Central High School for the Ronald McDonald House.  I was honored to emcee a short program for the actual event on Tuesday evening.  This benefit featured more than 1,000 ceramic bowls made by several local high school students, including North Central.  These bowls are beautiful and unique handmade creations.  Attendees at the Empty Bowl Dinner paid seven dollars for each bowl and they received a ticket to eat some soups prepared by North Central chefs.  It was a wonderful way to bring attention to the issue of hunger in our world and to help fill the food pantry of the Ronald McDonald House, which gives families a ‘home away from home’ when they have sick children at Riley Hospital.  I also loved the fact that our young people are learning about charity and how to serve others while they are in high school.  This event is so popular it will be hosted by a different school for the next several years.  If you hear of it next year, consider supporting this event that features our children *helping* children and families at Riley.

On Tuesday’s Focus segment, we profiled the Indianapolis Masked Ball featuring grammy-award singer Al Jarreau.  It is a great night of dinner, dancing and fundraising for the United Negro College Fund which helps send students to college.  The Ball takes place on November 21st.  For more information call 317-283-3920. 

On Focus Wednesday, we interviewed “Carol the Coach”, a personal life coach and marriage and family therapist who visits us monthly.  This week, Carol Juergensen-Sheets talked about some of the “Laws of Happiness” – ways that we can learn to be happier.  I was all ‘ears.’  I will share a few of her thoughts with you.  Carol says happiness is created from within.  It is an attitude and it creates a climate of kindness.  When you feel good about yourself, she says, and your current state of affairs, there is less of a need for competition or people-pleasing. 

One way to increase your happiness:  Reframing.  That’s the ability to take any situation and put a ‘positive’ spin on it.  See what that experience teaches you or how it has made you stronger.  Carol says this will help you drop the victim role and have greater personal strength.  As an example, Carol adds, if you are getting divorced, see it as an opportunity to grow as an individual.  She says you can’t stop the process, so ask yourself what you can do to get through it with integrity.  Another example?  If your family member or friend has a terminal illness, remind yourself that you can make a difference in their life and recognize what differences they have made in your life.  Focus on the moment, she says, instead of the future.  You will experience this person differently when your focus becomes appreciation.

Other ways to increase your happiness?  Train your mind to focus on the positives for one hour at a time, Carol says.  Replace the negative self-talk with a positive statement – retraining your brain – and repeat the positive statement silently to yourself regularly.  She says your attitude will become naturally more joyful and positive.

For more advice from “Carol the Coach” on a variety of topics, click here for her website.

On Thursday’s Focus segment, October 21st, you’ll want to check out the “Tomb of Doom” – the Children’s Museum’s 46th annual Haunted House.  Take a tour of the house with me and be prepared to be ’scared’!  This is an elaborate masterpiece from the Children’s Museum Guild and they put 13-months of preparation work into entertaining children – and adults.  I took the ‘friendly hours’ tour with the ‘lights on’ for scaredy-cats like me… smiles… and your kids can too.  We’ll tell you all about it Thursday.  And on Friday, October 23rd, learn how to protect yourself from identity theft.  Get details of the “Community Shred-It Day” held at Channel 13 and several other locations by Crime Stoppers.  You can shred your old documents and get rid of old prescription medications.  More to come on the Focus segment on Channel 13 at Noon!

If you have community ideas you would like for us to cover, just let me know.  We are always trying to cover the issues, organizations and events that matter to you.  If we use your idea, we’ll mention your name on air.

Have a great week!

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director 

Hello everyone,

For the 23rd year, we have launched our “Bob Gregory’s Coats for Kids” campaign, helmed by our beloved and retired weatherman, Bob Gregory.  Bob keeps coming back to help keep our kids warm in the winter, and you always do, as well.  We have also been blessed to continue our longterm campaign partnership with Tuchman Cleaners and the Salvation Army.  Salvation Army officials say, in this tougher economy, they expect the need for coats to rise 25 to 30% this year, so our kids need your help more than ever.  Please donate today because the campaign will be ending soon and we are behind in donations!

You can donate new or gently-used heavy winter coats of all sizes at any Tuchman Cleaners location through Monday, October 5th.  The Salvation Army will collect the coats and prepare them for ‘Coat Distribution Day’ at the State Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 11th.  You can also volunteer to help prepare the coats or to help fit the coats on children in need on Distribution Day.  For more details on this wonderful and rewarding campaign – the longest community campaign at WTHR - click here.  We can’t help thousands of kids without your generous donations.

Also, please join us or share ideas for community organizations, events or issues to profile on a community interview segment that I host Monday through Friday during our Noon News hour.  It’s called “Focus” and we would like to focus on community ideas that matter to you.

Here’s a look at what’s coming up this week on Focus.  On Monday, September 28th, we’ll profile the Governor’s Conference on Service and Volunteerism including how the economy is affecting Hoosier volunteerism.  On Tuesday, September 29th, we’ll talk about teen drug and alcohol abuse and profile a special school helping them recover.  On Wednesday, September 30th, a last-minute overview of our “Coats for Kids” campaign, as we hold a Colts Collection Drive and Coat Distribution Day.  On Thursday, October 1st, we’ll talk about HIV/AIDS and a special way you can support an area center that is working to prevent the spread of the disease and empower people living with it.  And on Friday, October 2nd, we’re talking about the “Circle City Classic” – a weekend celebration of college football and historically black colleges and universities – that includes a downtown parade that will attract celebrities and tens of thousands of attendees.

Have a great week!

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director

Hello everyone,

For the 23rd year, we have launched our “Bob Gregory’s Coats for Kids” campaign, helmed by our beloved and retired weatherman, Bob Gregory.  Bob keeps coming back to help keep our kids warm in the winter, and you always do, as well.  We have also been blessed to continue our longterm campaign partnership with Tuchman Cleaners and the Salvation Army.  Salvation Army officials say, in this tougher economy, they expect the need for coats to rise 25 to 30% this year, so our kids need your help more than ever.  Please donate today because the campaign will be ending soon!

You can donate new or gently-used heavy winter coats of all sizes at any Tuchman Cleaners location through Monday, October 5th.  The Salvation Army will collect the coats and prepare them for ‘Coat Distribution Day’ at the State Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 11th.  You can also volunteer to help prepare the coats or to help fit the coats on children in need on Distribution Day.  For more details on this wonderful and rewarding campaign – the longest community campaign at WTHR - click here.  We can’t help thousands of kids without your generous donations.

Also, please join us or share ideas for community organizations, events or issues to profile on a community interview segment that I host Monday through Friday during our Noon News hour.  It’s called “Focus” and we would like to focus on community ideas that matter to you.

Here’s a look at what’s coming up this week on Focus.  On Monday, September 21st, we’ll give you the warning signs of diabetes and tell you how to join a Walk to help fight this devastating disease that affects some 24 million Americans.  On Tuesday, September 22nd, we’ll show you how to enjoy health and wellness while biking around the city for a special day to explore your community.  You’ll hear about the NExT (Neighborhood Exploration Tour), which is coming up soon.  On Wednesday, September 23rd, we’ll talk to Carol the Coach, a Life Coach and Marriage and Family Therapist, who visits us monthly to discuss various self-improvement and relationships issues.  This week she’ll discuss ”The Four Tools of Conflict” – how to find a better resolution to conflict in your life.  If you have a question for Carol or a topic you would like for her to address in a future segment, let her know by clicking here.  On Thursday, September 24th, we’ll give you a preview of the Opening Night Gala for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s new classical series season.  And on Friday, September 25th, find out how you can help save lives by registering to become a bone marrow donor at an upcoming “Be the Match” drive.

Thank you for supporting all of our community campaigns, including our annual “Shattering the Silence” campaign on domestic abuse which ended in August.  We ’shatter the silence’ on abuse year-round – child abuse, teen dating abuse, spouse or partner abuse - so if you have any information or ideas you would like to share, just let me know anytime.

Have a great week!

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director

For the seventh summer, Channel 13 is Shattering the Silenceon domestic abuse.  I have been leading this campaign since I began my job as WTHR’s Community Affairs Director and, we continue, because the problem never ends.  Domestic abuse affects one in four American families.  It is not always physical, but mental, verbal, emotional, sexual and financial abuse.  Although 85+ percent of reported abuse victims are women, men, too, are abused.  Experts say they are just less likely to report it.  

This year, as part of Shattering the Silence we are focusing on the impact of domestic abuse on children and teen dating abuse.  News Anchor Scott Swan and I have produced some stories in July and we will do the same in August.  You can click here to see a few of the stories that have already aired and to get a full overview of our campaign, including how to recognize the red flags of abuse; how to teach your teenagers to ‘choose respect’ in relationships; and how to join us in shattering the silence by donating time or money to area service agencies.

On my Noon Focus interview segment, Monday through Friday, I will also do a weekly report or interview on domestic abuse issues.  We will bring on some domestic abuse experts to talk about the problem.  If you have any questions that you would like for me to ask an expert, please blog with me.  We will not list your name or identity on air on this particular subject.  If you have any general thoughts to share about domestic abuse, you can also blog with me.  We may share excerpts of your thoughts on Focus, but again, we will not identify you on air.

Today, I am also including some advice about domestic abuse from “Carol the Coach.”  Carol is a Personal Life Coach and a Marriage and Family Therapist in Indianapolis.  She appears regularly on my Noon Focus segments.  As part of Shattering the Silence, Carol has shared some information about abuse.  See her comments below:

***COMMENTS FROM “CAROL THE COACH“:*******************************

Domestic abuse is an epidemic.  For simplicity’s sake, I am going to be addressing physical abuse as opposed to verbal, emotional or sexual abuse that also occurs in many families.

Physical abuse perpetrators can be both men or women, although  there is a higher # of reported cases with men  being the perpetrators. Research shows that children who live in a home with physical abuse will learn the maladaptive patterns and either grow up to be perpetrators or victims of sexual abuse.

So how do you break the cycle of abuse and stop it from generationally occuring in families for years to come?

It starts with education

Children and their parents need to know what abuse is and need to have resources to learn other coping skills to combat the intimidation factor that promotes abuse or the need to physically control another person,

WTHR  has made it a mission to identify what abuse is and to talk about what you can do to  get the help you need. My 3 minute segment resulted in 3 calls the same afternoon in which viewers wanted to make an apt with me to learn how to stop the abuse. I wonder how many other households wrote the phone number down but did not call that day?

It continues with resources.

There are centers all over the Indianapolis viewing area that have resources available to men and women to stop abuse.

The Julian Center has been instrumental in creating resources for women and children including groups, individual therapy and in-services that will teach women the skills to get out of abusive relationships and gain the confidence to manage life with out a perpetrator in one’s life.

Indianapolis Psychiatric Associates runs emotion regulation groups that teach both men and women how to manage the anger so that families can begin to cope with the frustrations of life differently and change the typical response to stress and control.

And it is managed with on going practice of the life skills that everyone in the family will need to use to protect themselves and their loved ones.

• Families will need to learn limits and boundary setting.
• Self esteem will need to be improved.
• Perpetrators will need to learn anger management techniques and practice them daily. They will need to develop lots of extra support so that they stay in recovery.

If you are an abuser or the victim of abuse, you can email me at carolthecoach@aol.com and I will get you to the right resource that can begin to change your life. There will be no judgment about what you have been through or what you have done. Identifying that you have a problem is the first step to changing your life and creating the life that promotes safety and respect for everyone in the family.

Carol the Coach

*****************************************************************************

If you have any questions for “Carol the Coach”, she will answer some of your questions on Wednesday, August 26th during our Noon Focus interview segment.  You will remain anonymous.  Click here,  for more on submitting your questions.

Thank you for helping us shatter the silence.

Take care,

Angela Cain

WTHR Community Affairs Director

For the seventh summer, Channel 13 is Shattering the Silence on domestic abuse.  I have been leading this campaign since I began my job as WTHR’s Community Affairs Director and, we continue, because the problem never ends.  Domestic abuse affects one in four American families.  It is not always physical, but mental, verbal, emotional, sexual and financial abuse.  Although 85+ percent of reported abuse victims are women, men, too, are abused.  Experts say they are just less likely to report it.  

This year, as part of Shattering the Silence we are focusing on the impact of domestic abuse on children and teen dating abuse.  Scott Swan and I have produced some stories in July and we will do the same in August.  You can click here to see a few of the stories that have already aired and to get a full overview of our campaign, including how to recognize the red flags of abuse; how to teach your teenagers to ‘choose respect’ in relationships; and how to join us in shattering the silence by donating time or money to area service agencies.

On my Noon Focus interview segment, you will also see me do a weekly report or interview on domestic abuse issues.  We will bring on some domestic abuse experts to talk about the problem.  If you have any questions that you would like for me to ask an expert, please blog with me.  We will not list your name or identity on air on this particular subject.  If you have any general thoughts to share about domestic abuse, you can also blog with me.  We may share excerpts of your thoughts on Focus, but again, we will not identify you on air.

Some other things coming up on Focus starting Monday, July 20th:  We’ll profile the Reid Ride – a fundraiser to help buy shoes for kids. On Tuesday, July 21st, you’ll hear about ‘Business at the Brickyard’ – a popular golfing event – as we discuss the benefits of knowing how to golf in the business world.  On Wednesday, July 22nd, we’ll talk about ‘Kids Can’t Wait’ – an extension of our Shattering the Silence campaign that involves Prevent Child Abuse Indiana and urges parents to get parenting guidance.  And on Friday, July 24th, hear about ways you can grant the wishes of terminally ill children.

If you have any Focus segment ideas, profiling community issues, events and/or organizations, please share them with us.  We just may choose your idea and give you credit on air.

Take care!

Angela Cain