Blog

Have you heard about Polished Man? It invites men to lend their voice – and a fingernail – to combating child abuse, and it’s a campaign we can get behind and encourage you to support as well.

Men paint one fingernail, usually the third finger on the right hand, a bright color to represent the one child in five that will physically or sexually abused by the time he or she is 18. The movement was started by Elliott Costello who was inspired by a trip to Cambodia.

There he met a young girl, Thea, who in talk and play painted his fingernails a bright blue. In getting to know her, he learned she lost her father when she was eight and was sent to an orphanage where her mother, who could not support her, thought she would be cared for. In truth, she suffered daily physical and sexual assaults.

Thus was born Polished Man, which last year reached 58 million people and this year is going global, with all funds raised going to the New York Center for Children, a center much like our Kosair Charities Child Advocacy Center. The KCCAC helps child victims of abuse – primarily sexual abuse, but some physical abuse cases as well – with multidisciplinary team investigations, forensic interviews, specialized medical and mental healthcare, and victim advocacy.

This year’s campaign runs through Oct. 15, so, men, take the challenge. Paint one nail and when asked, explain the reason for the polish and the importance of the cause — to end violence against children.

And feel free to post a picture to our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Read more here, and here and here.