BIDS 4 KIDS: ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
Each spring the Lake Sumter Children's Advocacy Center holds an annual fundraiser called "Bids 4 Kids" to raise operating funds for the entire year. Our 2024 event was a success and our 2025 event will be announced soon.
Bids for Kids was a Success!
We want to issue a sincere thank you to all our sponsors, auction item donors and all those who participated in our fundraiser auction.
If you were not able to bid or did not win an item, please consider a donation at any time by clicking the button below.
All financial contributions made to the Lake Sumter Children's Advocacy Center are tax deductible.
The mission of the Lake Sumter Children's Advocacy Center is to provide a child-friendly, community-based facility where a child victim can be safely interviewed, provided with crisis counseling, receive medical exams and long-term specialized therapy, when needed. Without your support, we would not be able to continue offering our services free of charge to the community.
We sincerely appreciate your generosity and commitment to the children of Lake and Sumter counties.
MEET "AMY"
A special letter from our Executive Director:
Please note: The LSCAC Child Protection Team (CPT) conducts forensic interviews with child survivors of physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or severe neglect. In some cases, an interview occurs the very day of a child’s victimization - at a time when that child is most vulnerable and suffering inexpressible pain. With utmost compassion and sensitivity, the interviewers extract crucial information from the child regarding the alleged trauma event. That information, combined with physical evidence collected in the course of the child’s obligatory medical examination, supports Law Enforcement, DCF and the State’s Attorney Office in their respective decision-making in the case. The case of “Amy” (named changed to preserve confidentiality), the subject of the following article, is illustrative of the exemplary collaborative efforts of CPT and counseling at LSCAC. Amy’s courage serves as enduring inspiration to us all.
Dear Friends:
When I contemplate the essential services we provide at our Center, my mind invariably turns to a former client named Amy. Amy was a tiny, timid, soft-spoken five-year-old when she first appeared before us, the victim of repeated acts of sexual battery committed by a once loved and trusted family member. As with many survivors of abuse, Amy expressed reluctance over identifying her perpetrator and detailing the trauma to which she had been subjected. Our conventional interventions, including a forensic interview, a medical examination and crisis counseling, would not initially shake that reluctance. Subsequently, Amy received several months of trauma-focused counseling, and time passed. When hope of bringing Amy’s perpetrator to justice was all but abandoned, Amy unexpectedly appeared before us once more. This time she presented with a louder voice, an assertive tone and a new-found confidence. It would seem that Amy was living testimony to the power of therapy. Though she admitted to being “scared to tell everything”, Amy named body parts, sexual acts, and, ultimately, the offending family member. It took two full years from our first encounter with Amy, but she finally got her day in court. With a trusty therapy dog by her side, she courageously faced down her perpetrator and recounted his heinous acts. And when it was done, Amy’s vicious attacker received a series of consecutive life sentences – all because of the compelling testimony of a brave little girl who found her voice and the justice she so richly deserved.
We are privileged to facilitate recovery for at-risk children as Amy every day at our Center. In fact, last year we provided life-changing services to over 1,000 children, including forensic interviews, medical examinations, crisis counseling and therapy. Amazingly, we provided all of these essential services at absolutely no charge to our families. It is through your generous financial support that we relieve families of financial burden and permit them to focus on their children’s trauma recovery.
We invite you to help us once again. Our annual Bids for Kids fundraiser provides the operating funds necessary to allow our Center to serve the community. We ask you to become a Corporate Sponsor at one of the levels listed on the sponsor agreement form. Your kind sponsorship shall help us continue to provide the necessary healing services to child survivors of abuse. We appreciate your generosity, compassion and support. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Brenda S. Crellen, Executive Director
BECOME A BIDS 4 KIDS SPONSOR
We offer four levels of corporate (or private) sponsorships each year. Contributions made to the Lake Sumter Children's Advocacy Center are tax deductible and acknowledged in writing. We also offer opportunities to sponsor a child's therapy either prior to Bids 4 Kids or at our Live Auction. The sponsorship levels are as follows:
- Platinum Sponsor: $5,000
- Gold Sponsor: $2,500
- Silver Sponsor: $1,000
- Bronze Sponsor: $500
- CAC Friend (under $500)
- Sponsor a Child's Therapy: $1,000
