ShawneeDispatch.com

As the children approached the table, eyeing the stuffed animals behind it, the volunteer in the bright yellow shirt asked if they'd like to play a game to earn a stuffed animal.

All they had to do was flip a card and tell the volunteer, Candy DeSpain, if the subject on the card was someone or something they could go to for help if they were in trouble.

"Do you think a dog could help you? No, probably not," DeSpain said as she helped each child through the game. "But what about your grandma? Or a police officer?"

The simple game was just one part of the Circle of Safety event Saturday at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Sunflower House, a Shawnee-based child abuse prevention center serving Wyandotte and Johnson counties, organized the event. But DeSpain, president of the Friends of Sunflower House, said the game was an important part of how the organization helps children recognize what to do when faced with abuse.

"They start at such an early age with education, getting awareness out there," DeSpain said. "It's just the little things, like a game like that: just something fun, but hopefully something they'll remember. To me, it helps empower the children with just that little bit of knowledge, that it's OK to say no, it's OK to move away."

Saturday's event is just one of many that keeps the Lenexa resident busy during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and later this month, DeSpain will be one of 10 people across the metropolitan area awarded with the United Way Volunteer of the Year award.

DeSpain started volunteering for Sunflower House four years ago after hearing a report of a girl who had been abducted, molested and killed. Though she has no children of her own, DeSpain is close with her nieces and nephew and said the story affected her deeply.

"I just sat on my bed and I cried," she said. "I'd heard about Sunflower House, and the next day I filled out my application to volunteer and sat for my interview, and I've been there since."

Volunteering was something DeSpain says she learned was important early in life, spending a lot of time with her grandmother as a volunteer at nursing homes. DeSpain said Sunflower House's message and services have spurred her to be even more active.

"I'm very passionate about what they do, about the prevention of child abuse and children's advocacy," DeSpain said. "What I try to do as much as possible is just spread the word and let people know that Sunflower House is out there and what they do."

In addition to providing education in the community so children know what to do if they are abused, Sunflower House provides a child assessment program for children who are victims of abuse, bringing together legal officials and medical and psychological services in one space so children only have to report and therefore relive their experiences once.

"It can be a scary thing, and I think it's amazing that they have this organization that is a safe place for them to disclose the horrible things, the trauma that has been done to them," DeSpain said. "I have a lot of enthusiasm for Sunflower, and it's amazing how many people come out of the woodwork to help them."

DeSpain has given her time to Sunflower House by helping with activities and events like the Valentine Gala and Saturday's Circle of Safety, and even hosting her own fundraising events. She has organized bake sales and last year organized a poker run with a local motorcycle organization that raised $3,000.

Allison McCain, volunteer coordinator at Sunflower House, said DeSpain has proven herself as the ultimate volunteer; she is one of the few McCain allows to help with the organization's Stepping Stones program, which provides childcare for children who are abuse victims.

"If I could clone her, I'd be set," McCain said. "She kind of gets everybody together and makes things happen. She's just fabulous."

DeSpain is busy organizing the second annual Sunflower House Poker Run, which will take place July 12, likely starting at Jake's Place in Shawnee and ending at Shorthorn's Barbecue in Lenexa, with five stops in between, where participants pick up playing cards along the way.

Registration will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, with a $20 entry fee. The winning hand gets a $150 prize, and the worst hand gets $50.

DeSpain also is trying to organize T-shirts for this year's poker run, somewhere between her regular work for a local landscaping company, volunteering for two other Sunflower House-related events this month and receiving her volunteering award April 29. While it keeps her schedule busy, Despain said she loves every minute of the time she lends to Sunflower House.

"If I could volunteer as a full-time job, I would so do that," DeSpain said.