CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Sexual Assault Center in Clarksville received a $15,000 donation from Best of Clarksville, a wonderful gift during a time of need.
“We are so unbelievably appreciative of the donation. It’s a signification amount to (offset) our budget and 100 percent will go towards the Clarksville office and helping serve people in the Clarksville area,” Rachel Freeman, president at SAC. “It will help us provide counseling to children, teenagers, and adults. It will help us serve more people on the waiting list and it will help keep us afloat.”
Freeman said they received $40,0000 less from one of their grants and the donation is helping balance them out.
“This money will go directly to services for sexual assault survivors and will help us staff our center,” Freeman said.
This year’s Best of Clarksville event raised over $166,000 for the benefit of local nonprofit organizations. SAC received their check for $15,000 on Monday, November 18.
Best of Clarksville is held each year at Governors Square Mall on October 3. The event recognizes outstanding local businesses and groups through a system of nomination and popular vote.
Each year, Best of Clarksville donates thousands of dollars back into the community. Applications are received from potential charities and reviewed by the Best of Clarksville committee. Determination is based on a variety of factors including whether the organization has a local base, the impact on the community, and how the funds will be utilized.
The Sexual Assault Center’s (SAC) mission is to provide healing for children, adults, and families affected by sexual assault. They hope to end sexual violence through counseling, education, and advocacy.
The Center operated in Clarksville from 1991 to 2010 but was forced to close due to budget cuts that year. With the help of the Clarksville Montgomery County Community Health Foundation, the local United Way, and the Clarksville community the center re-opened their doors in November 2015 in Clarksville.
“One of the things we have to do to be sustainable is to diversify our funding and this donation has helped us do that,” Freeman said. “When we opened back up in 2015 we served bout 50 survivors that year. This past year we served 250 and have a 50 person waiting list for individual counseling. We are going to keep working to make sure we meet the needs of sexual assault survivors and stay present in the community.”
The Sexual Assault Center will have to reduce their office space this year to continue to operate within the budget.
“The need is huge but the funding isn’t keeping up with the need,” Freeman said. “We are trying to figure out new fundraising opportunities and partnerships.”