Community members rally around a great cause

WASILLA — There are hundreds of non-profit organizations in Alaska that support a variety of causes, but there is one agency in Wasilla focused specifically on helping Valley children.

The Children’s Place was created by founders Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson and Margaret Volz to help physically and sexually abused children.

According to Paula Jones, the executive director at The Children’s Place, the agency’s mission is “to protect children in a nurturing environment by facilitating a collaborative approach for prevention, evaluation and treatment of child abuse and neglect.”

Fundraisers are a necessity for any non-profit organization, and The Children’s Place is no exception. Many times, members of the community contact The Children’s Place directly to offer fundraising support.

The Children’s Place “welcomes any opportunity to partner with the community in efforts to generate funding,” Jones said.

Especially touching is when students wish to raise money for The Children’s Place. Last year, Colony High School’s student government coordinated several fundraisers and presented The Children’s Place with a check for $10,700 at graduation.

This year, Wasilla High School’s Advanced Human Relations students sold homemade s’mores and bagels to raise money for The Children’s Place. Most everyone loves the sweet, stickiness of s’mores, but not many would be willing to make them from scratch, let alone trays and trays of them. But Wasilla High School students did just that.

They formulated the idea for the fundraiser when Deb Haynes, a WHS teacher, and a student attended a gala hosted by Colony High School and saw that they had raised a substantial amount of money for The Children’s Place. Haynes was inspired to do something similar.

The Wasilla High Peer Helpers worked alongside Linda Myers, their contact at the Good Shepherd Church, to brainstorm different ideas to raise money for The Children’s Place. When they settled on the idea of making s’mores, it was time to get cooking.

Starting in January, the students learned how to make homemade s’mores and bagels every Tuesday at Good Shepherd Church’s commercial kitchen with the facilitating chef. After school, and for some students after church, the Peer Helpers sold s’mores to their families, friends, teachers and peers.

Overall, the s’mores campaign raised $1,100.

In addition to community efforts, staff at The Children’s Place host a few of their own fundraisers, and they pursue funding through other sources as well.

In April, The Children’s Place hosted their 16th annual Gala Fundraiser at Evangelo’s, which is their biggest yearly fundraiser. More than 200 lucky people attended the gala, and guests enjoyed a nice meal, silent and live auctions, entertainment, and good company, while at the same time supporting a wonderful cause. Participants learned about the important work of The Children’s Place, while enjoying a festive evening.

Evangelo’s provided a buffet-style dinner and dessert, and the Fireside Quartet performed prior to dinner. Other entertainment included local artist Jamie Bottoms painting a live art demonstration. A gala guest purchased Bottoms’ painting, titled “Innocence,” for $1,050; it was the highest ticket item in the auctions.

Mat-Su Borough Schools Superintendent Deena Paramo was the MC for this year’s gala, and students from both Wasilla High School and Mat-Su Central School also attended.

WHS students from the Human Relations classes and Peer Helpers helped direct guests and sold flashing rings as part of a drawing to win a ring provided by Alaska’s Gold Rush Jewelers. Mat-Su Central videography students created an informational video as a tribute to founders Marg Volz and Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson.

Jones said, “The Children’s Place would love to always have high school table captains at our event” which is something they started two years ago. “The table captains show guests to their tables, sell rings to guests, and help guests get answers to any questions they may have.”

The fundraiser at Evangelo’s was a big success. According to Jones, the event raised more than $100,000, and on the night of the gala, they brought in $38,000.

After the gala, The Children’s Place is still very busy. The staff is submitting large grant proposals in an effort to secure state funding.

The Children’s Place has an overall annual budget of $500,000. Just under 50 percent of their funding is provided by grants from the Department of Health and Social Services, which equals about $236,000 a year. The rest of the funds come from a variety of sources, including fundraisers, businesses, prominent members of the community, and even high school students.

The Children’s Place’s other yearly fundraiser is the Soup and Bread Luncheon. The luncheon is held in the fall at Mat-Su Title Company throughout the week at lunchtime. According to Paula Jones, “guests are offered a soup and bread lunch in exchange for a donation.” Throughout the luncheon, a silent auction is held that “features handmade quilts and cookie jars filled with homemade goodies.”

The Soup and Bread Luncheon is a much smaller fundraiser than the gala and raises less than 1 percent of The Children’s Place’s annual operating budget. However, fundraisers such as this contribute to the mission of The Children’s Place, while raising awareness about child abuse in the Valley.

Although every company and organization needs funds to operate, that is not the main focus of The Children’s Place. Jones explains needs outside of funding. Jones said,

“The Children’s Place is also recruiting volunteers to present shaken baby/abuse head trauma curriculum in the schools,” Jones said.

Training is provided for anyone interested in getting involved.

“We can’t do anything without money in the bank,” Jones said. “But unlike traditional businesses, money is not our focus. Our focus is kids. Kids who have been abused. Kids who feel like no one is listening.”

For more information, or to make a donation, contact 357-5157, or online at thechildrens-place.org.

Danae Mitchell is a freshman at Mat-Su Central School.