Annual Gala, CSVAC Calls for Someone to Watch Over Me

(Oct. 30, 2010) Annual Gala

By Erin Holaday

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 3, 2010) – This is your chance to publicly honor someone from Kentucky who has made a difference to children. This is your chance to sponsor a cause with lifelong benefits.

The Center for the Study of Violence Against Children needs your compassion and your help.

CSVAC's second annual gala, themed "Someone to Watch Over Me," will take place from 7-11 p.m. on October 30, at UK's Hilary J. Boone Center. In preparation for the event, CSVAC is asking for event sponsors, as well as nominations for its esteemed Circle of Compassion award. Sponsorship levels range from $1,000-$10,000 and include the patron's name on the program, complimentary event tickets and a displayed banner at the event and around Lexington.

"The monies raised at the gala are used to benefit abused and traumatized children served by our center," said CSVAC director Ginny Sprang. "No child should be a victim," added event sponsor Molly Sutherland, of Sutherland and Associates. "A healthy child will become a healthy adult in a healthy society."

The Circle of Compassion Award provides a chance for the community to publicly honor someone from Kentucky making a difference to children…children who have experienced maltreatment…children that have been deprived of a safe and healthy childhood.

Nominators must fill out a form with basic information on the nominee, in addition to a typed narrative of 250 words or less on the impact he or she has had on creating a better world for children exposed to violence. The award will "honor those that make happy endings possible," said CSVAC.

"The Circle of Compassion award is our way of honoring individuals in the community that have proven themselves to be strong, compassionate advocates for children exposed to violence," said Sprang.

Award winners will have the honor of their images and stories displayed at the gala and throughout Lexington. The circle will grow each year as others join in the future.

The CSVAC celebration will feature wine and bourbon tastings, as well as youth entertainment, including singers and a string quartet from School for the Creative and Performing Arts. But CSVAC's children will remain the focus of the evening, as the center plans to release a new video about its mission and successes to date for the first time.