Sunshine House nets $60,000 in fundraiser

BURNET — The Hill Country Childrens’ Advocacy Center raised more than $60,000 at its “Cowboy Up for Kids” fundraiser at Boulder Creek Farms Nov. 8, helping to offset an earlier $82,000 deficit created in August when expected grant funding fell through.

For more than 15 years, the HCCAC, also known as the Sunshine House, has interviewed young victims of physical and sexual abuse in a non-threatening setting, recording the interviews for later use by police during investigations. The center and its staff also provides preventative training for area school students, professionals and volunteers.

The center, located at 1001 North Hill St. in Burnet, serves children in Burnet, Blanco, Llano, Lampasas, Mills, Mason and San Saba counties.

“We are so grateful for donors, sponsors and the more than 225 participants who supported our ‘Cowboy Up for Kids’ event,” HCCAC Executive Director Deborah Keith said. “Earlier this year we were surprised to lose an $82,000 grant despite our record-breaking case load. The Cowboy Up donations will help provide a financial bridge during these tough economic times.”

Keith was notified in August that this year’s expected Victims of Crime Act grant would not materialize due to funding cuts at the federal level.

“There’s no reprieve,” Keith told The Daily Tribune. “This cut was totally unexpected. If we had known earlier, we could have worked with (The Capital Area Council of Goverrnments) to make it work, but we had no idea.”

Nearly all of the center’s funding comes in the form of local, state and federal grants and donations, she added.

Most of the $82,000 in VOCA money was set to be used to pay the salaries of the center’s dozen or so staff members, and Keith said she’s been scrambling to make ends meet in the two months since the grant was lost.

The center in 2006 received more than $140,000 in VOCA funding, and that amount was reduced to just $130,000 the following year after a delayed delivery.

Keith said center officials were prepared to receive a diminished $82,000 grant this year when word suddenly arrived that no funding would arrive at all.

“CAPCOG had already let us know to expect a $10,000 cut in our VOCA grant money,” she said. “We started out expect $92,000 this year, and we were ready to cut it to $82,000. Then at the end of August, the rug was pulled out from under us.”

News of the cut came as the center’s workload increased. So far this year, more than 275 young victims have been interviewed by the center, compared to 221 in all of 2007.

“The stress on families during times of economic crisis contributes to an increase in child abuse,” HCCAC spokeswoman Kelly Carper Polden said. “As parents struggle to meet even the basic needs and stress levels rise, children may become the outlet for parents’ frustrations.”

To combat the rising number of child abuse cases, the center recently expanded its “Yello Dyno” education program. 

As part of an effort to prevent child abuse before it occurs, officials said the Yello Dyno program teaches non-fearful abuse prevention techniques to students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

HCCAC Volunteer Coordinator Pam Rodgers said center officials hope to start a Yello Dyno program at Kingsland’s Packsaddle Elementary School and at schools in Marble Falls.

“Once we have the volunteers in place, then we’ll begin the programs at the other schools,” she said.

Rodgers said the program is still seeking volunteers willing to spend about an hour a week teaching the program at local schools, adding the total program is expected to last about a month.

The Cowboy Up event featured music, dancing, a raffle and a charity casino, officials said.

During the program, HCCAC Board President Mike Center read a poem by an anonymous 11-year-old girl who wrote the piece after her abusive stepfather was convicted and sentenced following an investigation.

“It was poignant yet very bittersweet to read that poem as the Center observes our 15th anniversary this month,” Center said. “We know we are helping so many child victims at the center like this 11-year-old girl, and yet the staff would prefer that there be no need for their jobs.”

As HCCAC looks ahead to the new year, officials said they’re still accepting donations to keep the center’s doors open.

Center and his wife Connie joined John and Barbara Racz of Horseshoe Bay and another anonymous donor to raise up to $7,500 in matching funds.

“This means that every dollar generated up to $7,500 will be matched dollar for dollar, thereby doubling donations,” Center said. “During this holiday season, we hope that people, especially those seniors able to contribute their their (individual retirement accounts) will empathize with a rural, non-profit organization and donate whatever amount they can to HCCAC. Our mission is to break the cycle of abuse, one child at a time.”

For information on donating, or to volunteer for Yello Dyno, call (512) 756-2607.

chris@thepicayune.com

Courtesy photo