Since Ryan joined the Dream Big Gala Committee four years ago and the Fund Development Committee two years ago, he said he has learned how often child abuse happens. When telling people about the center, he said he tries to make people understand just how many kids we help, because he didn’t realize how often child abuse happens in our community.
“I think people don’t understand the staggering number of lives that are affected by it,” he said. “But to hear that there were over 800 kids alone that were seen by the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County is just a staggering number. That’s 800 lives that were somehow altered or affected last year in some form or fashion, and if you think about it, that’s a pretty staggering number of people that have been affected in a negative way.”
Ryan said another reason he supports the Children’s Safety Center is because of the mission to heal the children that come through their doors. It’s hard for people to know how to help a child who has been in an abusive situation, but the people at the Children’s Safety Center know how to help children recover best, he said.
“I think knowing the forensic interviewers and the child advocates really are trained to help support the child – it’s that level of complexity that happens with trauma that people just aren’t aware of,” he said. “And for a child it’s very critical that you are supporting them in the right way to get them on the right path to life.”
When telling people about the Children’s Safety Center, Ryan said he often emphasizes the steps children take when trying to recover from trauma. It’s these steps that he said are critical to the rest of the child’s life.
“Trauma does happen to children, and when you take them away from that trauma, the very next moment of their life is important to them to set them on the right track, and that’s what the Children’s Safety Center does,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he loves the tactical part of being on the fund development committee, where he gets to strategize and reach people in the community who might be willing to support our center. One of his favorite moments since working with the center is when he received a certificate for his service.
“We have it up in the office (Buf Studio) because it reminds me of what I do at the Children’s Safety Center,” he said. “It reminds me of how young and fragile those little ones are. That’s been my favorite part – knowing that we’re changing lives. The children can’t help themselves, but we can help them when needed.”
Thank you, Ryan and our Dream Big Gala and Fund Development Committee members for helping us help others. We believe that every child deserves to be safe, and together we are making this belief a reality.
The Children’s Safety Center of Washington County received over $18,000 at the Northwest Arkansas Holiday Market on November 15-16. We are so grateful, and appreciate those who came to the market, from vendors to volunteers to customers. But we can’t leave out Bill Lloyd with Southern Roots Promotions and Jake McBride with Kix 104 for their outstanding support in helping create the market and spread the word about the event!
Bill hosted the Northwest Arkansas Holiday Market and chose to donate the entry costs to the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County. He heard about the Children’s Safety Center through Susan Parker and Jake McBride, and said as soon as he did, he was sold. Taking a tour of the building was just another reason he felt compelled to donate.
“We were invited to go tour the place, which just killed me,” he said. “I hate that it has to exist. But man, it’s eye-opening. It’s so much when you see the 11,000 handprints on the walls.” Every child that receives services at the Children’s Safety Center leaves their colorful handprint, their mark of bravery behind.
Bill said funding child abuse services and prevention was important to him for many reasons. He’s a father and grandpa, and said when deciding on where to donate proceeds, a charity that helped children was a priority to him.
“I had certain standards that I wanted: I wanted it to benefit children; I wanted it to be local; and I… wanted the money to go where it’s supposed to go; where there’s a real need.”
Bill exceeded his goal of $10,000 to donate to the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County, and said he can’t wait for next year where he wants to increase his goal and donate even more to kids who need help!
“We’re all in,” Bill said. “I don’t start something just to do it one time; I start to finish it.”
We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us and for Bill, but we must extend another thank you to Jake McBride. He publicized the event on Kix 104 and other iHeart radio stations and he also helps keep Northwest Arkansas educated about child abuse in the area year-round.
“I really love what the safety center has done as far as all the advocacy, all the training, all the knowledge and all the seminars they do,” he said. “That’s what I’m all about is just getting that word out. They’re making people more aware of what to look for, if and when they see some changes in the behavior of the kids.”
This year’s holiday market was a way for our community to learn about child abuse and to help prevent it. We cannot say “thank you” enough to everyone who played a role – but we’re sure going to try. See everyone next year!
