Children focus of advocacy center's fundraiser
Hoffman Estates-based Children's Advocacy Center of North and Northwest Cook County is honoring children with its "Wonders of the World" theme for this year's reception and dinner fundraiser.
Agency officials decided to dock the former "Ports of Call" theme, instead concentrating on those "little wonders" as they plan for the biggest fundraising function of the year.
This year's event takes place at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at The Cotillion, 360 S. Creekside Drive, Palatine.
The evening, which includes a full dinner, will feature Fox News Chicago reporter Anita Padilla, who, as mistress of ceremonies, will aid the Children's Advocacy Center in its quest to raise $80,000. Formerly with NBC5 News, Padilla joined WFLD-Channel 32 in May.
Susan Reedquist, director of development for the advocacy center, said the emphasis this year is on the children rather than the past "ports" theme, which took travelers to Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Caribbean.
"We want to emphasize the children and the free services we provide on their behalf," Reedquist said.
"In the past, we had our staff talk about their experiences in working with the families we serve, but this year we wanted an even more powerful way to communicate how our services impact our families, so we arranged for a video," she said.
Reedquist said officials hired the firm Winning Systems to oversee the fundraiser details. Kathy Rivera and her locally-based KRT Productions produced a video that will be presented at the benefit.
The center, in existence since 1989, will not tolerate violence and abuse of children, said Mark Parr, executive director of the center. The agency is housed in the former Arthur Hammerstein farmhouse, 640 Illinois Blvd., Hoffman Estates.
It is the mission of the center, which calls itself "a healing place for abused children," to reduce trauma and provide support for child victims of violence. Advocates promote the right of all children to have a safe childhood, a truth contained in its mission statement.
Officials point to statistics such as "one out of five boys and one out of three girls will be molested by someone they know by the time they are 18." The perpetrator might be a family member, a neighbor or a friend.
Reedquist said that when a child arrives at the center, the state pays for the investigation and the state's attorney's services, but not therapy or counseling. It's functions such as the dinner fundraiser, with its raffles and silent auction, that provide for those expenses.
There are various levels for local sponsors to get involved.
Cocktail attire -- such as sport coats and collared shirts for men and dresses, skirts or pantsuits for women -- is suggested. Admission to the benefit costs $125 per person.
The deadline to register is today and credit cards are accepted. For more information, call Laura Anderson at (630) 833-7722.