Children’s Shelter provides safe haven

Organization: Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter Title: President, Board of Directors Day job: Associate Counsel, Walmart Legal

Tell us about your organization:

■ Mission:

The mission of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s

Shelter is to provide a safe haven, high-quality care and hope for the future to children who have been abandoned, abused or neglected.

■ Services provided: The Northwest Arkansas Children’s

Shelter is a 24-hour emergency residential center, with trauma-trained staff who provide support and love for children ages birth through 17. Since 1993, we have helped more than 10,000 children from throughout the state of Arkansas. All children receive counseling from licensed therapists, on-site medical care, dental and vision care and more. The shelter’s onsite school also provides an individualized learning program for each child. Last year alone, we provided 174,840 hours of care for nearly 500 children.

■ Service area: State of Arkansas

■ Average number of children served annually: 500

How is your organization’s mission unique? At the shelter, we focus on breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect. We believe the way to do that is through hope for the future. So for the kids that come into our care, it’s about much more than food to eat and a safe place to sleep. Through education, extracurricular experiences, life skills training, and most importantly, love, we want to help these children enjoy the simple treasures of childhood and reach their dreams as young adults.

Why do you volunteer for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? I have been blessed with so much in my life – a great family, support system, church, education, opportunity – volunteering with the shelter allows me the opportunity to help children who have faced tremendous pain and hardship begin to experience some of the joys that I was so fortunate to experience as a kid.

What have you learned on the job that you didn’t expect? Success stories of kids that come into our care always teach me little life lessons. The joy that comes from seeing a child learn to ride a bike for the first time or ask what a jump rope is, while heartbreaking, are great ever-present reminders to embrace the little victories in life. What challenges face your organization? We are always assessing how we can grow and expand our services to enable us to help even more children. As sad as it is, the problem of child abuse and neglect is something that isn’t going away. Our job is to make sure we are providing these children every opportunity to overcome their past and help them pave a way for a brighter future.

Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? Yes! Our kids love our volunteers. There are opportunities to serve individually at the shelter and also as corporate groups. Volunteers are so important to our mission of showing these children what hope looks like.

What upcoming fundraisers and/or other events does your organization have planned? Our annual Starlight Gala is March 2 at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers. This is our largest fundraising event, and we are thrilled to have General Mills return as our presenting sponsor, as well as our underwriting sponsors Walmart, PepsiCo, Intradeco and The Hershey Company. We are grateful for the support of so many corporate partners and community friends who make it possible for us to fulfill our mission every day. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and you can purchase tickets by contacting Raegin Callaway at rcallaway@nwacs.org.

Reynolds