By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — Not everyone is cut out to be a forensic interviewer or law enforcement officer, but there are still ways to help Tuscola County children who are victims of physical or sexual abuse.
The Child Advocacy Center of Tuscola County will host its second “Tee Fore Kids” fundraiser golf scramble Friday, September 26 at Vassar Golf and Country Club, 3509 Kirk Rd. near Vassar.
The event begins with registration at 9 a.m. and a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Registration is $280 for a four-person team before September 19, and an even $300 for late registration after that date. Cost includes 18 holes with a cart, lunch at the turn, and a roast beef with gravy and roasted chicken dinner afterward.
Prizes will be awarded to first place mixed team, first place men’s, first place women’s, as well as closest to the pin and longest drive competitions for both men and women. Sponsorship opportunities are available for businesses as well. For information, contact CAC executive director Amber Spencer at (810) 610-8071 or email tuscolacac@aol.com.
June fundraising efforts for the Child Advocacy Center of Tuscola County generated more than $8,000 for the group, which helped the center operate through the summer.
The Child Advocacy Center helps kids in abusive situations get the help they need by employing forensic interviewers, a multidisciplinary panel of law enforcement and child welfare experts, and allows the children at the center of the investigation to tell their story one time, in one place to one person. Statistics show that one in four girls and one in six boys who live in Tuscola County will be the victim of some form of abuse before age 18.
Trish and Greg Hollingsworth of McDonald’s of Caro hosted a Family Fun Day on June 13, raising and McDonald’s customers pitched in to donate $1,325.77 during the course of the day. Mark Ransford added another $100 with a dunk tank battle between the Caro Fire Department and the Michigan State Police.
In addition, Jim and Cheryl Luth had agreed to match the amount raised, but donated an even $2,000 to the cause.
“Even before this Caro center opened, we’ve been involved with the Bay City (center) and all the child advocacy centers for years,” Jim Luth said. “It’s something that’s near and dear to our heart. Anything to do with children, we like to be involved and give back to the community.”
Spencer said that the Luths and Hollingsworths also sponsored the event, so there was no cost to the CAC.
“It wasn’t hard,” said Trish Hollingsworth. “Pretty much everything was donated. Caro Rental donated the dunk tank, the bounce house was doanted — everybody really pitched in and it was awesome. Next year it’s going to be even bigger. We’ve got that whole back area to work with, so next year it’s going to be even more awesome. I’m excited.”
“It’s great that people recognize the importance of the center, especially in the community,” Spencer said. “The Luths and Caro McDonald’s ahve been big supporters since the beginning since our beach party in June 2013. They have been and still are our biggest sponsors. Trish is on our board — she’s a very active board member. Fundraising is unfortunately a huge part of being on our board because we’re a non-profit.”
Later that evening, the CAC hosted its first Superhero 5K at the Tuscola County Fairgrounds. In all, 142 participants helped the center raise $5,195.58. Spencer said that Karen Southgate coordinated the 5K, and along with Amy Gregor and Mark Reene, played a huge role in the success of the event.
For first time events, Spencer was pleased to raise $8,000, which she estimated would cover rent and salary for a couple months.
“We’re just so new and getting acclimated,” she said. “We weren’t accredited so we couldn’t apply for grants, but now we are. So we’ll be receiving state funding, and that opens up more grants such as the United Way.”
Spencer said the CAC will receive $54,000 a year from the state, which means they will still rely on the community for donations to help their mission of helping children who are victims of abuse.
“That’s why we also depend on the Tuscola County Community Foundation which has been a big supporter as well,” Spencer said. “(Receiving state funding) definitely makes it so we can survive a little longer, but we need more funding, unfortunately, because we want to get involved with prevention and education. Donations and fundraising are a huge part of our budget. We’ll just keep building on it.”