The men raised the funds through their “Flavors of the World” dinner that included wine tasting, a dance, an auction, as well as coporate donations.
The community also has been eager to support the dinner. “We have made this into a very visible cause,” says Kevin Symmons, one of the co-chairs.
This was the fourth annual dinner to benefit Womansplace Crisis Center, an emergency shelter, and HUGS II (Help Us Get Safe), a nonprofit organization that offers various services to combat domestic violence.
In the past four years the men have raised more than $130,000. They held the first event after taking an oath as part of the White Ribbon Campaign to do whatever they could to stop domestic violence.
Symmons says he is grateful for the active support the men in the church have shown. They had so many who wanted to help with the dinner that “we had to turn away volunteers and tell the guys to enjoy the dinner with their wives,” he says.
More information on how churches can combat domestic violence is available on the Evangelical Covenant Church website area devoted to the Advocacy for Victims of Abuse (AVA) program.
