Child safety focus of Dream Big! Gala

One in six boys will be abused while they are growing up. To help combat such abuse, 400 people in Northwest Arkansas gathered for a fundraiser.

The Dream Big! Gala, a summer celebration that supports the operations of the Arkansas Children’s Safety Center, took place at the Fayetteville Town Center Saturday evening (July 20).
 
“The people at the Children’s Safety Center are so dedicated and so good at what they do,” said Dream Big! 2013 Event Chair Dustin Roberts. “They find children who have been hurt in ways that will help and … they come back everyday. It took me awhile to get that, but they say, ‘how can you not?’”

The efforts of the safety center staff and those of the board of directors that ensures a successful fundraiser do their part to help children through physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Funds were rallied a number of ways throughout the evening, a variety wide enough to make sure all participants could find some compelling item to come away with. Guests had the opportunity to participate in raffles, 50/50 drawings, a “wine pull” – in which you pay $20, unwrap a bottle of wine to reveal which type and vintage it is and to discover if you won the single $50 bottle of the bunch – and silent auction. High end items included trips to Las Vegas, California wine country, Legendary Master’s Tournament, which had a minimum bid of $9300, various themed gift baskets and sports items, such as a football signed by Razorback Football Coach Bret Bielema.

Two awards were presented to people whose hard work and dedication have made a difference in the lives of many local children.

The Ordinary Hero Award went to Corporal Robert Hendrix.

“His dedication day in and day out inspires me to be a better investigator,” said Kim Pierce, an investigator who has spent 10 years of service in the crime division. “He always says ‘If one child can lay their head on their pillow safely, then we’re doing our jobs.’”

An extraordinary service award was presented to Elizabeth Shackelford, the executive director of the Children’s Safety Center. CSC staff members submitted kind words that were spoken at the event to illustrate the depth and meaning of her work.

“The award should go to Elizabeth because a team can never be any better than their leader,” one message said. “The reason the Children’s Safety Center is a fun, happy, well-staffed organization is because of her. She goes the extra mile.”

Another said, “She leaves the legacy of a director who keeps children as her focus. She’s kind-hearted and buys us chocolate.”

Shackelford accepted the award with modesty.

“I do see the children who are helped … and the staff (at the CSC) do an amazing job,” she said. “There’s no way I can do my job without this team. This award is for all of you all, so thank you.”

Conner Eldridge, the U.S. Attorney for Western Arkansas, attended the event and spoke of the disheartening experiences of the victims of sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse. He spoke of the process involving a little league coach who abused his players for two decades and was brought down following the Sandusky case, thanks to a player who had managed to pick up his life, move on and become an attorney. Eldridge applauded the work of the children’s safety center and the strength of the victims.

“The bravest thing I see is not our rescue teams going into these homes to collect (sexual predators), but the victims on the stand, telling their stories in graphic detail to a judge and jury,” he said. “These people have been victimized their entire lives.”

To end the evening on a hopeful note, guests had the pleasure of viewing a video of safety center patients telling their stories. The impact the center had on their lives was very clear.

“My family didn’t believe me,” said one patient in the video. “Then I came to the Children’s Safety Center. … The nurse told me I was going to be OK. They know how to help. We went into foster care. We finally felt safe.”