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MANicure Movement®

Join the Movement to End Child Abuse

Help polish off child abuse — one nail, one conversation at a time.

ONE fingernail painted blue starts

ONE conversation that moves us

ONE step closer to polishing off child abuse

What is MANicure Movement®?

MANicure Movement® started in Central Florida in 2017 as a grassroots effort designed to raise awareness about child abuse as a national health crisis. Throughout the month of April, we and other child welfare agencies work in tandem with community partners to highlight the important prevention work that is being done to create strong families.

You Can Be Part of the Movement

The campaign runs throughout the month of April — National Child Abuse Prevention Month — and offers many opportunities to participate.

  • Wear blue: April 4 is Wear Blue Day and the official start of the campaign. Wear blue that day and start a conversation about child abuse prevention at the bank, your child’s school, in the grocery store — wherever you’re out and about.
  • Hold a nail painting event at your workplace or community group. We can provide resources for your event, or you can invite us to join you, and we’ll paint your group’s fingernails blue. You can email us at community.relations@fpocf.org, and we’ll work with you to help you plan your event.
  • Take a pledge against child abuse by painting your fingernail blue and signing up to volunteer with one of our community partners.
  • Share our MANicure Movement® flyer with your coworkers, neighbors and friends. It provides important information about ways you can help develop nurturing and loving relationships with young people, support safe and stable environments, encourage constructive engagement and social connectedness, and volunteer with organizations that help strengthen families.

How to Get Involved

The HOPE Framework — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences — is a new way of seeing and talking about experiences that support children’s growth into healthy, resilient adults.

Our goal for MANicure Movement® is to inspire a HOPE-informed movement that educates the community about child abuse prevention efforts and prompts action.

In addition to painting your nail blue to spark a conversation, would you consider taking things a step further by learning more about the important work being done in our communities in the following ways?

Here are things you can do to help:

Develop Nurturing and Supportive Relationships

Safe, loving relationships between children and their parents, caregivers and other supportive adults help children grow up healthier and more resilient. Research shows that kids mentored by a caring adult at an early age more successfully maneuver through life’s obstacles.

Want to be that caring adult? Consider becoming a mentor for one or more of our kids by contacting Amber Barrett, assistant director of Youth Services, at Amber.Barrett@fpocf.org.

Support Safe and Stable Environments 

Safe, equitable and stable environments — at home, at school and in the community — meet children’s needs, enable them to feel secure and foster a sense of belonging. Programs like the following help families build these positive environments:

Encourage Constructive Engagement and Social Connectedness 

We all need to know we matter to other people and our communities. That starts by lending a helping hand to a neighbor in need. Know where to help families in your area turn for support.

Volunteer

Volunteers play a critical role in fulfilling the mission of local nonprofit organizations. Without your support, we could not meet the needs of children and families. Take a pledge against child abuse by signing up to volunteer.

And Here’s One More: Report 

If you suspect a child is experiencing abuse in any setting, for immediate help call: 911 to alert local law enforcement.

To contact the National Child Abuse Hotline, call 800-422-4453. In Florida, call 800-962-2873.

MANicure Movement® Mondays

Join the movement every Monday. Get together at work or school and paint your fingernails blue. Take pictures while you’re doing it and post them on your social media channels. Please also share them with us on our LinkedIn page.

March 28, 9 – 10:30 a.m.: Orange County Children’s Cabinet

Nail Painting and Information Sharing

April 4: Wear Blue Day & Campaign Kickoff

April 10, 1 p.m.: Family Partnerships, Brevard Administrative Office

Pinwheel Planting and Nail Painting

April 11: Public Lighting in Blue, Downtown Orlando

Around Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando

    • Global Convergence Sculpture
    • Take Flight Sculpture
    • Lake Eola Fountain
    • Lake Lorna Doone Park Fountain

April 18, 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Fore Our Kids Golf Tournament

Nail Painting and Information Sharing

Eagle Creek Golf Club, Lake Nona, 10350 Emerson Lake Boulevard, Orlando, 32832

Get your nails painted blue and be a champion for kids. Register now for a fun day of golf, mission and community spirit.

April 21: Orange County Sheriff’s Office

Pinwheel Planting and Nail Painting

April 22, 11 a.m.: Family Partnerships, East Orange County Service Center

Pinwheel Planting and Nail Painting

April 23, 11 a.m.: Family Partnerships, Osceola County Service Center

Pinwheel Planting and Nail Painting

April 29, 9 – 11:30 a.m.: CAPTF Banquet

Nail Painting and Information Sharing

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“We have been fostering for five years. We have enjoyed having relationships with biological families. We have two boys that we still speak to both of the families and their extended family. We also have two other children that have reunified, and we are in close contact with them and still get to see them. I feel it is extremely important to think outside of the box and what you think will be a perfect fit for your family age-wise may not be, and maybe a different age outside of your box may be really awesome.”

— Body Family

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