At the Heart of It All Newsletter - March 2024 - Issue 1

Letter from our President & CEO


You asked, and we listened.


Over the past few months, we have been connecting with many of you in a variety of ways to learn how you wanted to hear updates, engage with our mission, and learn about ways to get involved. Throughout the process, we continued to hear the same consistent message: you wanted a newsletter to return. That brings us here today. We are launching our first "At the Heart of it All" Quarterly Newsletter.


"At the Heart of it All" will come to you in digital format every quarter. The newsletter's purpose is to ensure you stay connected to the heart of The Center for Empowerment and Education (CEE) by staying current on events and mission updates. We want to streamline the information that you receive in a way that is shareable and easy to process. We want to help connect you to survivor stories of empowerment, get to know the team of dedicated advocates who make our mission come alive every day, and learn powerful information that impacts our policy, laws, and advocacy. We want to share relevant information, media, and educational information that is connected to our mission.


We know that interpersonal violence is a public health emergency and that no one organization can solve community problems independently. It takes working together as a community to create long-lasting, impactful change. You are a part of our community. You have worked with us to develop solutions, spread awareness, and spark change. You are a part of why we believe we can turn our vision to create safer communities free from interpersonal violence into a reality. You have been with us throughout our almost 50-year journey as a vital nonprofit in our 11-town service area. We want "At the Heart of it All" to help you maintain a pulse on our work and data as representatives of our mission. In addition, we want to celebrate successes with you.


We cannot thank you enough for your sense of community and dedication to our mission. We cannot wait to keep you “At the Heart of it All”.


With gratitude,


Ashley Dunn MS, MFT, NCC

President & CEO


Record-Breaking Attendance at Hearts of Hope Breakfast

We held our 16th annual Hearts of Hope Breakfast on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the Candlewood Inn in Brookfield. We hosted a sold-out crowd of almost 300 guests in attendance. The Candlewood Inn generously donates the venue, food, and waitstaff service for this event in support of CEE’s critical programs and services that are needed now more than ever.     

 

This year’s “Service Above Self” honorees were Kimberly Adams and Susan Farrell (pictured above.) Kimberly and Susan have demonstrated exceptional dedication, talent, and leadership in all that they have done for CEE’s mission. These two caring and creative women created the Redding County Club Champagne Lunch and Fashion Show third-party fundraiser that fully benefits CEE. Together with their team, they have raised over $60,000 to date.


The event’s guest speaker was Maria Flores, Survivor, Entrepreneur, and Author. CEE’s brave and resilient guest speaker shared her survivor-to-thriver story with such grace. Maria accessed CEE’s services at a dangerous time in her life. Her story is about immigration, navigating violence, and becoming a strong, successful, independent, and thriving woman.


As a survivor of domestic violence, Maria’s clothing company, PRUMATT has a new collection called “SURVIVOR.” Maria hopes to continue delivering her message to all women who are experiencing or who have experienced interpersonal violence. 


We are proud to know Maria and walk alongside her throughout her journey.

Sponsorship opportunities are available and an integral part of making this event a success. Please contact Linda Cummins, our Special Events Manager at linda.c@thcenterct.org to secure yours today! The deadline to be included on the invitation is this Friday, March 29th.

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Volunteer With Us!


Everyone deserves to live a life free from violence.


Be a part of the solution!


To learn more about our Direct Service and Non- Direct Service Volunteer opportunities or to complete an application visit:

Volunteer - The Center for Empowerment and Education (thecenterct.org)


The support provided by our dedicated volunteers enables The Center for Empowerment and Education to reach an average of 20,000 people each year.

If interested in becoming a Direct Service volunteer, you must complete a 40+ hour certification training. We will be hosting two certification training sessions this year.


For more information or questions please, feel free to connect with Ann Marie Moreira, Volunteer & Training Coordinator at: Annmarie.m@thecenterct.org

Notes of Gratitude

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"Thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart for thinking of myself and my children this past Christmas! I didn't know how I was going to make the holidays possible for them. I was sent an angel here on this earth. The finance books and planners for me is just what I needed and wanted too! To not only learn how to best do my finances on my own but also know how to teach my children along the way.

-Anonymous Client

April Is

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) starts on April 1, and we want to help our supports connect to and learn more about the purpose of this awareness month. Cara During, Director of Community Impact, knows how vital awareness months are, "Awareness months are an incredible opportunity to spark important and difficult conversations about the real experiences around sexual violence in our communities, and the kind of support available. But our work doesn't stop with the end of April - it is on all of us to continue raising awareness to help build a safer community free from sexual violence."


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Over half of women and almost 1 in 3 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes. One in 4 women and about 1 in 26 men have experienced completed or attempted rape. About 1 in 9 men were made to penetrate someone during his lifetime. Additionally, 1 in 3 women and about 1 in 9 men experienced sexual harassment in a public place.” Those statistics are staggering and most likely mean that you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence. We know that those numbers are highly underrepresented because sexual violence is highly underreported. There are many reasons why someone doesn’t report their sexual assault and it isn’t for anyone to judge or question them for not reporting. They have their reasons and that is reason enough. 


Sexual violence is underreported and can have long-term health complications, impact relationships, and a person’s overall well-being. We know from the CDC that experiencing violence has detrimental long-term implications. The different forms of violence share common consequences that have health effects across the lifespan, such as mental, emotional, physical, or social problems. These consequences may contribute to chronic health problems like cancer, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, or diabetes. We need to do more to prevent sexual violence. As we move into April, we encourage the community to continue the hard conversations because we know how prevalent sexual violence is in our community. What can you do to help be a part of the solution?  


You can promote social norms that protect against violence by encouraging Bystander Intervention approaches. Learn more about these Bystander Intervention techniques or contact CEE to schedule a training for your company or community group. You can speak up and encourage schools, workplaces, community organizations, and businesses to provide prevention education programming taught by our Community Impact Team. By supporting our message, you can ensure that we can teach skills to prevent violence by encouraging more schools to bring in prevention education programming to teach children and teens green flags for healthy and safe relationships, and learn how to confide in a trusted adult if something feels unsafe. You can support victims and survivors by believing their stories. You can listen to victims without judgment, support them, and connect them with resources like CEE. You can educate yourself and advocate. "Even when we think that there is nothing left to do, there is still room for growth to include helping others to rise from the shame and trauma connected to sexual assault." Abilene Ribeiro, Director of Client Support Services, says. You can do your part by reminding people it is never the victim's fault. It is the perpetrator's fault 100% of the time. Recovering from sexual assault is a process; each person will experience this differently. It may take weeks, months, or years: no one is on the same timeline. Healing from trauma is not linear. Learn more about how you can support someone you care about by visiting https://www.rainn.org/TALK  


In addition, please visit our recently redesigned website for more information and connect to support at www.thecenterct.org.


If you or someone you know needs support, our no-cost confidential hotlines are available 24/7. 


24/7 Domestic Violence Hotline

(203)731-5206


24/7 Sexual Assault Hotline

(203)731-5204

Virtual Spring Support Groups

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