Features

Bowling for awareness

By Angela Bases
August 5, 2011
395

Awareness of an issue, no matter how taboo, has a tendency to reverberate change. Essentially, the very knowledge of the symptoms, services, and the magnitude of the problem can help support a reduction in stigma, and therefore, victims can discover help with less hesitation or fear. The Wayne County Childrens Advocacy Center craves this awareness, which is why they designed the Spare a Child, Strike out Abuse fundraiser. Their dedication to supporting and connecting services to children, who are victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse, filled Wayne Lanes of Wooster with community members and leaders alike on Saturday, July 30. This is probably the largest turnout that weve had, explained Deanna Nichols-Stika, executive director of the Wayne County Childrens Advocacy Center. Truly, all of our dollars we raise through community fundraising events like this, and this is our primary one, go right back into furthering our work to help these families. In previous years, they have raised $10,000-$15,000, numbers she hoped to match this year. The funds help them provide their services, and also contribute to their prevention efforts, which are offered free to the community. Each team was provided a lane, and two of the members also participated in mini-golf and billiards. Trophies were awarded for the best in each category, as well as a best total score between all three of the activities. Raffles, prizes and food offered even more exciting elements for participants. We charge no fees for any of our services. All of the families that we come into contact with are victims of a crime. We do not serve perpetrators or that component; we only serve the child victim, and whos supporting that child, Nichols-Stika continued. The Wayne County Childrens Advocacy Center is located within Wooster Community Hospital, though they are not affiliated with them. The hospital offered their space as a concerned partner of the community, which means fewer expenses for the advocacy center to manage, thus resulting in more funding for the victims. We work with all the 13 different law enforcement jurisdictions, Wayne County Children Services, the county prosecutors office, and their victim advocate program. We have a medical component to our program, as well as we have mental health. So we have partnerships with all of the mental health agencies in the community that have specialized training in dealing with these sorts of cases, Nichols-Stika said. Ultimately, community collaboration is vital to sparing a child of this distressing abuse. According to Nichols-Stika, the purpose of working together is to reduce the trauma associated with the investigation. The child only has to tell their story to all of the necessary partners one time, and then individualized, wrap-around services are provided from there. We try to keep it as calm, efficient and effective for the family as possible, Nichols-Stika added. We serve children birth to age 18. We serve females, males, across that spectrum. Last year we provided services to 160 children. As of the first six months of 2011, we had already provided services to 96 children and their families. So were definitely seeing theres a need. Nichols-Stika spoke very highly of those organizations that have supported their efforts. Some of the teams included members from Every Womans House, Wayne County Children Services, Kohls, Akron Childrens Hospital Pediatrics, the Wooster High Schools boys soccer team, NAGYS, Bowden & Associates, Orrville Exchange Club, Wooster Exchange Club, the Doylestown Police Department, and the mayors from both Orrville and Wooster. Local families also served as teams, alongside the agencies and community leaders. We are just very fortunate with having Wayne Lanes, NAGYS, Wooster Community Hospital, some very core partners in the community. Wayne Lanes has been a wonderful supporter of our event.

Bowling for awareness

The Peddler

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