February 6, 2023

Melanie Carman with the Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy celebrates while bowling, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at a Community Strikes Back Against Child Abuse charity event at Bowling World in Fort Smith. The annual fundraiser, which organizers said saw an overwhelming response from the community this year, is hosted by the Fort Smith Commissary Kiwanis Club. Though the club has raised money for other organizations in past years, the 2023 event was to benefit the local Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy, which offers free services to children in the River Valley who are victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. Among those in attendance were members of the Diamond Legion of the 501st Legion, the local affiliation of a worldwide Star Wars costuming organization. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)