Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Children’s Safety Center empowers, advocates
Elizabeth Shackelford
Children’s Safety Center (CSC) Executive Director
Tell us about your organization: ■ Mission: The Children’s Safety Center of Washington County empowers children to overcome abuse and begin to trust, hope and heal. ■ Services provided: Advocacy, forensic interviews, forensic medical exams, therapy, and prevention education training
■ Service area: Washington County
■ Average number of people served annually: 679 children; also, more
than 600 adults have been trained in preventing child abuse over the year
How is your organization’s mission unique? We are the only child safety center/child advocacy center in Washington County, providing specific services and direct support for alleged child abuse victims at the onset of the investigation and for many, during and after the investigation.
Why do you work for a nonprofit organization?
Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? My passion has always been helping others; it comes natural to me. I believe children deserve to be children. I was fortunate, but I know not everyone has a life like I have had, so why would I want to do anything else when I can help someone, especially a child? I love watching the team work together to make sure all children matter. One child being sexually, physically and/or emotionally abused is one too many.
What have you learned on the job that you didn’t expect? How resilient and strong I am as a person.
What challenges face your organization? We have seen an increase in children needing our services over the last few years — which means we need more staff, but with limited funding and office space, our team wears many hats and works incredibly hard to make sure every child receives the best support and resources available.
Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? We depend on volunteers. We have volunteer opportunities from answering phone calls to working on projects in the office. We also have a fund development and a Dream Big Charity Gala committee. These community members oversee and implement our largest fundraiser.
What upcoming fundraisers and/or other events does your organization have planned? Our 11th annual Dream Big Charity Gala will be held July 21 at The Fayetteville Town Center from 7-11 p.m. Kirby and Nathan Harris are chairmen of this year’s event, and along with their committee, they have worked tirelessly to make sure everyone attending will enjoy a memorable night of entertainment, food and beverages, as well as live and silent auctions.