Since its beginning, the Dallas Child Abuse Prevention Center has helped nearly 1,000 at-risk families.

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          A big reason why is because of people such as Lake Highlands resident Gerald Deats, one of three who helped found the center more than a decade ago.

 

          Over the years, Deats’ role within Dallas CAP has expanded, from treasurer to vice president to president. He has helped organize new and needed programs, and now he’s the primary organizer of the center’s golf tournament, which raises about $40,000 a year.

 

          Deats has done all this while working for the Bank of America, raising two sons, being involved with PTA and Scouts and coaching his kids’ baseball, basketball and soccer teams.

 

“Anything our kids have been involved in, we’ve been involved in,” he says of he and wife Ida.

 

          It’s because of Deats’ dedication to Dallas CAP, despite an otherwise hectic life and schedule, that he’s being honored this month with the center’s Spirit of Compassion Award.

 

          CAP Executive Director Margaret Patterson cites Deats’ “determination, innovative style, and long-term commitment” as reasons why he was chosen for the honor.

 

“The children and families he has assisted through his support of the CAP Center would not recognize him if they