Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) has been set aside for the full first week of May for over 30 years to honor those who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees. OFM State Human Resources coordinates the Washington state annual celebration and employee awards, to ensure state employees are recognized and honored for their great work and service to the public.

In 2023, PSRW will be held May 7–13. There will be in-person outdoor events planned in Olympia, Spokane and the Tri-Cities this year. For more information on the event visit: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/public-service-recognition-week
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For additional information, contact shrplanning@ofm.wa.gov.

You're invited to a screening of Shared Legacies. The Northwest African American Museum Choir will perform, followed by the film, refreshments, and a panel discussion with filmmaker Shari Rogers, PhD, Mark R. Jones, PhD, and Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum. The discussion will be moderated by Michele Storms of the ACLU of Washington.
 
**Seating is limited. Get your tickets today.**
 
(Trailer) Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance - YouTube
Thanks
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Denim Day is a campaign on Wednesday April 26, 2023 in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Patti Giggans and Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. The first Denim Day was held in 1999. Since then, what started as a local campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a movement. As the longest running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, Denim Day asks community members, elected officials, businesses, students, and all individuals to make a social statement with their fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence. Resources — Denim Day
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1. Help raise awareness by wearing denim on Wednesday 4/26/23.
2. Visit  Pledge — Denim Day
3. Post a photo on your socials #denimday Denim Day is a campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence.
4. Email your Denim Day photos to sherina.james@commerce.wa.gov and we will share you photo on BUILD socials. 

Child Abuse Prevention Month is an opportunity to learn about the signs of child abuse and how to prevent it. Awareness color or symbol: Blue, Blue Ribbon, Blue Pinwheels.

The 2023/2024 Prevention Resource Guide recognizes that there are actions we can take as a society and within communities, organizations, and families to address the root causes of child abuse and neglect. The prevention resource guide seeks to highlight the innovative ways that communities around the country are doing purposeful prevention work to help children and families thrive. The protective factors have always been central to the Resource Guide. A protective factors approach focuses on positive ways to engage families by emphasizing their strengths, in addition to identifying areas where they have room to grow with support. Focusing on protective factors helps children, youth, and families build resilience and contributes to positive outcomes.www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/guide_2023.pdf

As long as there have been people who care about making the world a better place, there have been individuals advocating for sexual assault prevention. In the United States, movements for social change and equality began to gain traction in the 1940s and 50s with the civil rights era. Although open discussion of the realities of sexual assault and domestic violence were limited at these times, activists for equal rights began to challenge the status quo.

A movement to end sexual violence: about both awareness and prevention of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. The theme of Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2023 is “Drawing Connections: Prevention Demands Equity.” This April's campaign calls on all individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions to change ourselves and the systems surrounding us to build racial equity and respect. 
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Awareness color or symbol: Teal, Teal Ribbon Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) (nsvrc.org)