The southeast Iowa chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) will be making appearances in communities during the month of April.
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and TenPin, a member of BACA, says, “This month, we go out and try to really give to the public and hand out coloring books to kids, mostly at grocery stores.”
TenPin says he and other BACA members will be at Hy-Vee in Ottumwa on Friday from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. They will also be in Bloomfield and Fairfield in April. These events are looking to educate the public on BACA’s mission statement in regards to helping victims of child abuse.
TenPin explained further. “The things we do, no other organization does it. We escort them [child abuse victims] to court. We just welcome them into the family and make them part of the family and give them their life back. The first thing we do is give them choices. When they suffer abuse, they don’t have a choice. So by giving them a choice of first off, do they want to be part of our family, part of our group is the first choice they get.”
TenPin says once a child abuse victim decides to join, the child is assigned two members (a.k.a. “primaries”) who are available 24/7 if the victim wants to talk to somebody.
Pipe is the president of the southeast Iowa chapter of BACA. He notes every prospective member must have a background check and must be a member for a year before becoming a primary. Members must adhere to strict attendance requirements as well.
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