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Children's Center Fundraiser set for
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April 24, 2021
Sheila Harris
Mark your calendars for Wednesday evening, April 28!
In conjunction with staff from the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, on Wednesday, April 28, from 5 p.m. until close, BBQ Station owners, Joel and Tanya Curren, will donate a portion of their proceeds from meals sold to The Children's Center in Monett, says fundraiser organizer and spokesperson, Jennifer Humphrey, of Cassville.
Emmy's Lemonade Stand will also set up nearby to donate proceeds from the sale of their beverage.
"The fundraiser," Humphrey said, "is in recognition of Child Abuse Awareness Month in April."
Preventing or intervening in child abuse is a topic Humphrey becomes passionate about. Before accepting her current position with the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, Jennifer Humphrey spent over ten years working for Children's Division of Family Services and served as a child advocate at The Children's Center, an organization many in the area know nothing about.
The Children's Center - a not-for-profit child advocacy center headquartered in Joplin, with satellite facilities in Monett, Nevada and Butler - is an organization that provides victim assistance services to physically and/or sexually abused children at no charge. Professional medical, legal and law enforcement personnel are available to serve children in crisis on a 24-hour, on-call basis. Physical exams can be performed onsite, and the children's statements of abuse allegations are videotaped for use in future court proceedings, making it unnecessary for them to continually repeat traumatic testimony.
The professional volunteers for the Children's Center get down in the trenches with the littlest among us and advocate for them when no one else is available. Services offered by the center are at no charge to the victims or families involved. Professionals who are aware of the need for crisis intervention in cases of child abuse volunteer their time.
According to 2020 statistics received from Jeannie Stuart, program manager for Children's Center of Southwest Missouri, 1000 children were served by the organization during that year, with 865 alleged victims interviewed. Of those, 657 were alleged victims of sexual abuse, 287 were interviewed for physical abuse, 13 for neglect, 38 were witnesses of an alleged crime and six were drug endangered.
Of the victims interviewed, 687 were age 12 and below; 305 of them fell within the birth to age six category.
Of the alleged offenders, 391 were a parent of the victim; 74 were a stepparent; and most of the remaining number of alleged offenders were known to the child.
Although the numbers recorded by the Monett satellite facility are just a part of the totals listed above, the ratios of the relationships of the alleged offenders to the victims are comparable, as are the ages of those victimized compared to the total number of children interviewed. The physical and sexual abuse of children does happen in our area.
Before accepting her current position with the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, Jennifer Humphrey spent over ten years working for Children's Division of Family Services, where she also served as a child advocate for The Children's Center.
While there, when her job became emotionally overwhelming, she asked herself regularly, "If I don't do this job, then who will?"
Who indeed?
As a child advocate aware of the needs of The Children's Center, Humphrey said, in the past, she had organized a drive to provide the items on the wish lists of the children served.
This year, Humphrey said, she's trying something different. In conjunction with the Probation and Parole Office and the BBQ Station in Cassville, she's planning the fundraiser to benefit The Children's Center.
So, plan to eat out (inside or carry-out) Wednesday night for a good cause!
The BBQ Station is located at 900 Main Street, Cassville. They can be reached by telephone at (417) 847-0470.
More information about The Children's Center can be found at www.childrens-center.org.
Sheila Harris
Mark your calendars for Wednesday evening, April 28!
In conjunction with staff from the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, on Wednesday, April 28, from 5 p.m. until close, BBQ Station owners, Joel and Tanya Curren, will donate a portion of their proceeds from meals sold to The Children's Center in Monett, says fundraiser organizer and spokesperson, Jennifer Humphrey, of Cassville.
Emmy's Lemonade Stand will also set up nearby to donate proceeds from the sale of their beverage.
"The fundraiser," Humphrey said, "is in recognition of Child Abuse Awareness Month in April."
Preventing or intervening in child abuse is a topic Humphrey becomes passionate about. Before accepting her current position with the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, Jennifer Humphrey spent over ten years working for Children's Division of Family Services and served as a child advocate at The Children's Center, an organization many in the area know nothing about.
The Children's Center - a not-for-profit child advocacy center headquartered in Joplin, with satellite facilities in Monett, Nevada and Butler - is an organization that provides victim assistance services to physically and/or sexually abused children at no charge. Professional medical, legal and law enforcement personnel are available to serve children in crisis on a 24-hour, on-call basis. Physical exams can be performed onsite, and the children's statements of abuse allegations are videotaped for use in future court proceedings, making it unnecessary for them to continually repeat traumatic testimony.
The professional volunteers for the Children's Center get down in the trenches with the littlest among us and advocate for them when no one else is available. Services offered by the center are at no charge to the victims or families involved. Professionals who are aware of the need for crisis intervention in cases of child abuse volunteer their time.
According to 2020 statistics received from Jeannie Stuart, program manager for Children's Center of Southwest Missouri, 1000 children were served by the organization during that year, with 865 alleged victims interviewed. Of those, 657 were alleged victims of sexual abuse, 287 were interviewed for physical abuse, 13 for neglect, 38 were witnesses of an alleged crime and six were drug endangered.
Of the victims interviewed, 687 were age 12 and below; 305 of them fell within the birth to age six category.
Of the alleged offenders, 391 were a parent of the victim; 74 were a stepparent; and most of the remaining number of alleged offenders were known to the child.
Although the numbers recorded by the Monett satellite facility are just a part of the totals listed above, the ratios of the relationships of the alleged offenders to the victims are comparable, as are the ages of those victimized compared to the total number of children interviewed. The physical and sexual abuse of children does happen in our area.
Before accepting her current position with the Probation and Parole Office in Cassville, Jennifer Humphrey spent over ten years working for Children's Division of Family Services, where she also served as a child advocate for The Children's Center.
While there, when her job became emotionally overwhelming, she asked herself regularly, "If I don't do this job, then who will?"
Who indeed?
As a child advocate aware of the needs of The Children's Center, Humphrey said, in the past, she had organized a drive to provide the items on the wish lists of the children served.
This year, Humphrey said, she's trying something different. In conjunction with the Probation and Parole Office and the BBQ Station in Cassville, she's planning the fundraiser to benefit The Children's Center.
So, plan to eat out (inside or carry-out) Wednesday night for a good cause!
The BBQ Station is located at 900 Main Street, Cassville. They can be reached by telephone at (417) 847-0470.
More information about The Children's Center can be found at www.childrens-center.org.