Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Five Reasons to Give This Spring

By Claire Morgan

This year’s Spring Appeal is in full swing, and it is time to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity that will have a lasting impact for generations to come. All donations made before June 30th assist families and individuals participating in the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program of YWCA. The Children’s Advocacy Program is just one of the many great services offered by SafeChoice, and is dedicated to helping families heal from difficult pasts and embrace hopeful futures. Listed here are five ways your donation will make a difference for those families engaged with this program.

Your donation will…

1. Improve Our Community

Last year in Clark County over 1,500 cases of domestic violence reported to the police, and over half of these cases involved children. These children are the future of our community. Your donation will help these children find solace and enrichment.

2. Help Youth Identify and Avoid Abuse

A child who learns to recognize the escalating signs of control and abuse is empowered to prevent and avoid that abuse in the future. When parents are able to model healthy relationships, children are able to learn from them and apply healthy models to their own relationships throughout their lives. Your donation will help our advocates teach children to recognize healthy relationships and develop strong families that contribute to and empower the entire community.

3. Break the Cycle Often

Children learn from and imitate the people around them. This can have a devastating impact on a child who has only been exposed to violence and abuse. He or she might be more likely to perpetuate or accept abuse. Our advocates work tirelessly to help parents and families break the cycle and learn healthy relationship and behavior patterns. Safety planning and parental education allow these children to recover, grow and flourish as strong members of the community.

4. Reduce the Effects of Violence

Studies show that the effects of violence last a lifetime. Children exposed to violence in the home have an increased rate of anxiety, fear and anger. They may also experience poor sleeping patterns and decreased verbal ability. This leads to poor performance in school and behavior problems with other children. From the first day that children come to the shelter, advocates begin working to counteract these effects so that these children can be healthy and happy.

5. Support a Program Unparalleled In Service and Reach

The SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program administrates the only domestic violence shelter in Clark County. With strong ties to the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, area homeless shelters, Portland shelters, and the police department, the program maintains a network of support for victims and survivors of domestic violence. In addition to helping people with their immediate needs, the program’s prevention efforts seek to improve the future of our families and our community.

Overall, your donation will be the change for hundreds of people and families seeking a future free of violence. As of Monday, May 20, $18,090 has been raised to support future generations. With 40 days left and $2,690 to go, we need your help to reach the $45,000 needed to fully fund the CAP program. Please give today.

You may be able to double your donations impact through an employee match program. Many employers support employees who donate to charitable organizations, and will match employees/retirees contribution dollars. Contact your company’s Human Resources Department to find out if your employer will match your tax-deductible gift, or view this partial list of match donor businesses to see if your employer is listed: Adidas, Bank of America, First Interstate Bank, , Gas Transmission Northwest, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, The Home Depot, Hewlett Packard, IBM Corporation, Intel, Key Bank, Macy’s, NIKE, Inc., NW Natural, Prudential, Starbucks, Stream International, Inc., Sterling Bank, Sun Microsystems, Tektronix, U.S. Bank, UPS, US West, VERITAS Software, Verizon and Wells Fargo.

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