JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- In the spirit of inspiring positive change in the community, the 15th Wing Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s office hosted the first ever Plant for Change event on JBPHH.
The family-friendly event, which was held on April 22 in recognition of Earth Day, was an opportunity for participants to do something to better the environment while also learning about sexual assault prevention.
Tech. Sgt. Christine Kearney-Kurt, 15th WG SARC office non-commissioned officer in charge, said the event was symbolic of physically changing the community while also changing the ideas about sexual assault in the community.
“We want to grow a healthier culture … a culture where it’s okay for sexual assault victims to come forward and have people believe them and respect them,” she said.
Ideally, as the seeds planted will grow and change the landscape in the community, the seeds of knowledge planted today will grow and change the climate and culture in the Air Force of tomorrow.
Kearney-Kurt said the goal is also to have, “a full community of bystanders willing to intervene--not just for sexual assaults, but for anything that’s going wrong.”
In addition to providing seeds for planting, the event also featured face painting, corn hole, informational booths, and plenty of sunshine.
Tech. Sgt. Kevin Rondeau, 15th Operations Group, and his wife Liz attended Plant for Change with their 3- year-old son Jax.
“My son understands Earth Day and its importance so he was pretty excited when we told him about this event,” Liz said.
Though Jax is too young to understand the larger implications of the event, Liz is hopeful he will look back and be proud of Plant for Change.
“Hopefully by the time he’s old enough he’ll know that he was a part of something positive,” she said.