Report: Survivor Empowerment Fund
After careful consideration and planning, in December 2007 we established the Survivor Empowerment Fund, a continuous collection of monetary resources and gift cards, which functions as a client assistance program for domestic violence survivors in crisis. The Fund’s creation deliberately coincided with the 2007 winter holiday season; the Fund replaces the past holiday giving programs and continues beyond the holidays. It’s giving at any time to help when needed! Even at its largest, the Fund fits in a small lock box. As of January 4, 2008, the Survivor Empowerment Fund cumulative total is $7,500.71, of which $2,470.50 has been distributed to 43 domestic violence survivors.
Survivors apply for gift card or cash assistance funding with a simple application, which is evaluated by a staff panel. Gift cards are then disbursed to survivors based on availability and need (monetary donations go toward needed items or services, such as car repair, insurance, or rent deposits). Each gift card is tracked by its serial number, so donors can find out who received it and why.
Why did we establish the Survivor Empowerment Fund? It’s a way to empower domestic violence survivors to get what they need when they need it. Domestic violence occurs every day, every week, every month of the year. The Survivor Empowerment Fund helps empower the survivors we serve to make their own decisions, decisions that are right for them at the right time. Just as we never know when the survivors will need our—and your—help, we can never know what they will need.
- A co-pay for the doctor and flu medicine, in February.
- A bus pass to get to a job interview, in April.
- A pair of baby shoes to replace the old ones forgotten in the hurry of fleeing the home, in July.
- A couple of nights of safe shelter, in October.
They never know. We never know. The best we can do is be prepared and flexible.
Survivors are in crisis, not poverty
The survivors who are most in need of assistance are those who are escaping violence by their partners. The immediate crisis dictates they need safety rather than material things. When lives are at stake, physical things matter little.
- A woman with a full-time job feels helpless when she can’t afford a bed or cookware or towels because the only resources she had went to securing a new, safe rental apartment.
- A girl feels helpless when she had to leave all her toys behind and can’t get new ones because she and mom will be moving again soon.
- A man and his three children feel helpless when they fled across the country from his girlfriend who threatened them with a gun.
The Survivor Empowerment Fund helps empower the survivors we serve when they feel helpless, through no fault of their own, to get what they need when they need it.
Giving that gives beyond the holidays
Survivors need financial resources to buy items they need in the time of crisis. For survivors, life is not about the ideal holiday present, it’s about overcoming basic hurdles in life. The smallest things make a world of difference when they come at the right time. Your gift card, gift certificate or monetary donation will, as part of the Survivor Empowerment Fund, help empower survivors at the time of their need. We accept contributions to the Fund all year round, not just during seasons of giving. Giving is a wonderful act no matter what the time of year. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to find out who has contributed what to the Fund so far.
Specialized community resources
Our focus is on empowering all individuals and families to have safe and healthy relationships because we believe such relationships best prevent intimate partner violence. There are other agencies in our community that have the mission and storage capacity to accept and distribute your in-kind donations. For example:
- Oregon Food Bank for food
- Dress for Success for clothes
- Community Warehouse for furniture
- Domestic Violence Resource Center for domestic violence-specific services
We each specialize in providing services needed in the community. Together, and with your contributions, we give a hand up to those who need it most when they need it most. If you have items you wish to donate and don’t know where to go, Donors Resource connects donors like yourself with organizations that need your items.
Your support matters
It is because of people like you that we are able to help individuals and families develop safe and healthy relationships. Thank you! As of January 4, 2008, the Survivor Empowerment Fund cumulative total is $7,500.71, of which $2,470.50 has been distributed to 43 survivors.Here’s a list of contributions so far, starting with the most recent:
- Bonnie Gretz: $40 in cash
- Laura Dellinger: $50 in cash
- Al Machemehl: $100 in cash
- Metropolitan Group: $550.50 in assorted gift cards and bus tickets
- Church of Christ The Latter Day Saints - Raleigh Hills Ward Relief Society: $655 in Target and Fred Meyer gift cards
- Oregon Women Lawyers - Washington County: $105 in assorted gift cards
- Anonymous (1): $395 in assorted gift cards
- Mountain Home United Methodist Women - Sherwood: $50 in cash
- Hillsboro Police Officers Association: $550 in Chevron and Target gift cards
- Linda Wedlake: $25 VISA gift card
- United Methodist Women - Hillsboro: $190 in assorted gift cards
- Quest Diagnostics Inc.: $355 in assorted gift cards
- Emanuel Lutheran Church - Cornelius: $100 in cash
- United Methodist Women - Portland: $200 in Fred Meyer gift cards and $41 in Tri-Met public transportation tickets
- Nancy Hochman: $20 Fred Meyer gift card
- American Blimp: $206 in VISA gift cards
- Southminster Presbyterian Foundation: $200 in cash
- Orthopedic Fracture Clinic: $920 in assorted gift cards (food, fuel, toys, movies, etc.)
- Employees of Providence Medical Group - Scholls: $50 in Shell gift cards and a $20 Powell’s Books gift card
- Health Physics Northwest: $375 in Fred Meyer gift cards
- ABATE of Washington County: $500 in cash
- Barbara Endecott: $50 in Fred Meyer gift cards
- St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Beaverton: $1,145 in grocery and Fred Meyer gift cards
- Textron Financial: $603.21 in assorted gift cards
- B.P.O.E. on Wheels: $50 in cash
- R. Allen and Barbara Deck: $30 in Target gift cards
- Employees of the Department of Human Services, Washington County: $5 phone card
- Bed, Bath & Beyond: $20 gift card
We invite you to join this growing list of contributors to the Survivor Empowerment Fund! If you’d like to donate gift cards, please mail them to the address listed below or bring them to our business office (call Rhonda Smith at 503.640.5352 for directions). To make an easy, secure, and environmentally friendly monetary donation, click here (don’t forget to note “SEF” or “Survivor Empowerment Fund” in the Item line). Thank you for your support!
If you’d like to adapt the holiday giving or client empowerment programs for your organization, you’re more than welcome. It’s free! Please call Shanya Luther, Community Outreach Coordinator, at 503.640.5352 x305.
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