Dinner Cruise Benefit
Dear Editor: On behalf of Allen Marine and Alaskan Dream Cruises, Lauren Allen invited a staff member of Sitkans Against Family Violence to attend a dinner cruise on their beautiful cruise vessel, the Baranof Dream. It was fun to meet Allen Marine staff and crew as well as members of the Sitka Chamber of Commerce on this cruise. I had the opportunity to speak about SAFV’s work and shared some numbers. I would like to repeat them here because they caused quite a bit of surprise among the audience.
During SAFV’s last fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2013, we provided residential services to 137 women and 89 children to a total amount of 3,512 bed nights. In the first three months of this year, the numbers increased to 1,155 bed nights for 45 women and 26 children.
We are very grateful for all the support we receive, at all times, from the community in the form of cash and in-kind donations as well as volunteer hours. We are extremely humbled and happy at the same time to announce that at the end of the cruise, SAFV received donations in excess of $2,000. Please know that this is appreciated from the bottom of our hearts.
Thank you to the generous businesses and individuals who attended the dinner cruise. Our deep gratitude goes to Lauren Allen and Alaska Dream Cruises for making this possible. They added a generous amount to round up the total.
This spirit of community and giving is also essential if we want to change the sad numbers above. We have the power to change our attitudes about girls and women, and others who are less fortunate. We can empower them to grow into their true potential. At SAFV, we call it empowerment-based advocacy. We invite you to join us on this journey.
We wish everyone a successful summer season, safe encounters with locals and visitors, and always a hand-width of water under the keel.
Martina Kurzer
Sitkans Against Family Violence
