Medinah gala to raise money for Children's Advocacy Center
A fundraising gala at Medinah Country Club Saturday night has a threefold purpose.
Organizers hope to raise $155,000 to fund services for abused children. It's also an occasion to raise awareness about what advocates call a silent epidemic. And it's a chance to look back on the work of the Children's Advocacy Center of North and Northwest Cook County, an agency that sees an ever-increasing number of kids and adults seeking its programs.
Looming large over all of that is a watershed cultural moment. The #MeToo movement and the trial of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar helped bring the issue of abuse "out of the shadows" and highlighted efforts to empower victims to break their silence, gala organizers say.
"It's just a constant reminder that these things are happening in our communities, and it's important for us to recognize that," said Mark Parr, the center's executive director.
Last year, the Hoffman Estates-based center served 1,030 children and adults through its three primary programs - an increase of about 5.5 percent from 2016.
The nonprofit provides a safe place - a former farmhouse in Hoffman Estates - where children can speak up about physical and sexual abuse.
The center's social workers and counselors conduct and coordinate forensic interviews with law enforcement in order to spare children from the trauma of having to repeat their story to investigators over and over again.
Another key program, "Safe from the Start," is designed to intervene in the lives of young children who have been exposed to violence.
The center also provides counseling and therapies to help children navigate the aftermath of abuse without feeling judged. Young victims are particularly at risk for anxiety, depression and self harm, Parr said.
"Without support, family support or community support, that makes them extremely vulnerable to those becoming significant, ongoing problems for them," he said.
By far, the "Hope, Heal, Grow" gala is the biggest fundraiser for the advocacy center. Tickets for the general public are sold out for the event at 6 p.m. at Medinah Country Club. If organizers meet their fundraising goal, Saturday's gala would be the most successful in its five-year history, Parr said.
The proceeds do not finance one particular program or project, but support all the center's services for kids who are survivors of abuse. But this year, the center also hopes to raise enough funds to create a new, high-profile position: a prevention specialist.
The new employee would serve as a resource for schools and parent groups in the broader community - the center serves 38 towns - offering personal body safety lessons, among other means of abuse prevention. The center's current staff members already have provided some educational outreach, but the new specialist could free them from that work.
"It is a real expansion of our program services in that area," Parr said.
In preparation for that role, the center is reaching out to educators who might want to develop partnerships as they implement curriculum as a result of Erin's Law, a 2013 measure requiring Illinois public elementary and middle schools to teach age-appropriate lessons on child sexual abuse. The center also is connecting with schools that don't fall under the requirement to see if there's a "specific need" they would like to address with the help of the specialist, Parr said.
"We have to be aware of and we have to think about how do we as adults particularly help ensure that our kids remain safe," he said. "We want to give them the skills, but ultimately it's our role to ensure the safety of children in our community."
The law's namesake, Erin Merryn, was raped at 6 years old by a friend's uncle and, later, repeatedly molested by a cousin. She received counseling at the center as a teen, and in 2014, was honored at the gala with the first Champion of Children award.
This year's recipient is Billie Larkin, who retired in March as executive director for Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois. Troy Triphahn, a member of the leadership board for the suburban center, is chairing the gala.