Santa Monica Police Captain Alex Padilla and Carla Barrett build toys  during a Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica program by Free Arts For Abused Children  at the Santa Monica Family YMCA on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

Free Arts for Abused Children is dedicated to helping children who have been abused, are homeless or are at-risk of falling through the cracks of the system, as well as families living in crisis.  In Los Angeles County alone, more than 32,000 children live under the protection of the courts. These children have been removed from their homes after suffering abuse, neglect or abandonment.

Kiwanis International is an organization of service clubs. Members of Kiwanis place special emphasis on service to children and youth, both through international initiatives intended to improve the quality of life of children around the world, and through their Service Leadership Programs, made up of about 7,000 youth clubs with about 320,000 youth members. Today, Kiwanis International has more than 600,000 members in more than 13,000 clubs, located in more than 90 countries around the world.