Giving Tuesday Can Change Everything for APFC
By Gloria Sgrizzi, APFC Co-Director
Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a day to encourage people to do good, get involved in issues that matter to them, and make a difference in their communities. This worldwide event is important to us and critical to the financial health of our agency, especially this year as we contend with a looming 40% cut to our VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant programs. These cuts will have a devastating impact to some of our most important programs which is why we look to you, the community we are so passionate about serving, for your support.
Our agency may be small, but we are mighty. We are a team of five full-timers and four part-timers who passionately believe in our mission and are committed to empowering and educating those impacted by domestic violence and dating abuse to become survivors, and to serve as helpers, every day.
APFC always exceeds our planned programmatic goals. In just this past year alone, we have:
• Educated 198 school counselors, nurses and health teachers from 107 schools in 20 NJ counties in our DATA program.
• Reached 626 social services personnel from 41 non-profit organizations in 14 NJ counties and provided 44 counseling sessions to adult victims in our DV-SOS program.
• Conducted 55 presentations reaching 1,512 teens and provided 31 counseling sessions for 17 teen victims in our PowerBack Program.
• Conducted 33 school-based and 13 community-based presentations reaching 2,854 young people and provided 24 counseling sessions to 14 teen victims in our PowerBack Plus program.
• Provided 34 classes in our PREP and LEO/In-Service programs reaching 495 law enforcement professionals from 85 police departments in 17 NJ counties.
• Prepared 200+ social service professionals to effectively support adult, child and teen victims in our five-part IPVA Certification Series program.
Additionally, we’ve produced exciting social media content to reach more teens than ever with critical information and resources to stem the tide of dating abuse. This is important as 71% of teens we surveyed last year said that dating abuse was happening on campus, and 36% identified as a primary victim.
Although we’ve endured many challenges over the years, these reductions in VOCA funds are overwhelming amid skyrocketing costs to maintain our programs and keep our agency running. This year, we need your help more than ever.
VOCA funding is not comprised of taxpayer dollars, rather it’s financed by the collection of federal crime fines and penalties. VOCA presently funds three of our largest programs: PowerBack, PowerBack Plus, and DV-SOS.
In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we ask you to consider a donation of any size to help us continue to make a difference in the lives of those affected by domestic violence and dating abuse. Every dollar helps us to keep our doors open and avoid cuts to our services and staff.
We understand that these are difficult economic times for many, so if you cannot give, we ask that you help us to spread the word and share our mission with your friends, family, and social networks. The more people who join us in this effort, the greater the impact we can have.
Thank you for being a part of our community and for your continued support of our work. Your generosity will bring hope, healing, and change to those who need it most.
To make your tax-deductible contribution, please click here: https://apartnershipforchange.org/donate