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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

Advocates for abused and neglected children on Wednesday honored Carol Brice, whose efforts to help children and families sparked change and spanned decades.

Brice, who came to Fairbanks in 1961 to be a public health nurse, received the Light of Hope lifetime achievement award.

The 71-year-old wife, mother and grandmother is retired but still leads parenting support groups at the agency she helped to found, the Resource Center for Parents and Children.

“From day one, children need our protection and our love,” Brice said.

Also honored at Fairbanks’ first annual Light of Hope luncheon at the Carlson Center were Howard Luke, Linden Staciokas, Shayle Hutchison, the state Custody Investigators Office and the Facing Foster Care in Alaska working group, which is made up of people who have been in the foster care system.

About 350 children in Fairbanks suffered maltreatment at the hands of a caregiver in 2007, according to statistics compiled by the Alaska Office of Children’s Services. The number of children abused statewide is close to 2,800.

About 200 people, including social workers and law enforcement officers, working on behalf of these abused and neglected children gathered for the luncheon and day-long conference. One of the workshops was titled “Working With Juveniles Who Sexually Abuse.”

Former Assistant Attorney General Becky Snow gave the keynote speech, which followed brief remarks by Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker.

“How could you not be moved, looking around this room, at the number of people who make a difference for children,” Brice said after accepting her award.

Brice is credited with helping launch the Head Start pre-school program in Fairbanks. She sat on the Alaska Children’s Trust board of directors and ran a parenting consulting business, Family Training Associates. A building on Gillam Way is named after Brice.

“Small in stature, Carol is enormous in her advocacy for children,” said Bernard Gatewood, Fairbanks Youth Facility Superintendent, who presented her the award.

The glass flame is Brice’s second lifetime achievement award. The first came from the Emma Willard School, a private secondary school for girls in Troy, N.Y. Brice graduated from the boarding school in 1954.

Brice plans to keep the glass flame in her home office, where she also keeps a statue of a baby that was given to her by one of her mentors, the late Mary Carey, who ran the Fairbanks Regional Public Health Center years ago. Brice’s mother-in-law, helenka, and Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, the noted pediatrician and author, also encouraged and inspired Brice, she said.

Luke spoke of the importance of education after accepting the Light of Hope cultural award. An Athabascan elder, Luke is a proponent of alternative education.

Whitaker said that child abuse “makes us a lesser people — all of us,” and thanked those present at the luncheon for their efforts.

“On behalf of the 100,000 people who live in this community, thank you,” Whitaker said. “We owe you a great debt.”

Snow called for radical changes in the U.S. Constitution that would guarantee children food, clothing, shelter, education and nurturing.

The luncheon was sponsored by the Fairbanks Court Appointed Special Advocate program and ended with a candle-lighting ceremony.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month.