ECDVC holds annual Harvest for Hope Benefit

The benefit was a full house with the dinner and live auction selling out days before the event.

On Oct. 12, the Elmore County Domestic Violence Council held its Annual Harvest for Hope Benefit.

This year’s event capped off a very significant year for the organization with the completion of Evans Harmony House, and the housing of its first residents imminent. The safe house, which will be the first of its kind in Elmore County will house victims of abuse and their children while they get back on their feet and transition to the role of survivors.

The Mission Statement of the ECDVC is that it strives to prevent and reduce the impact of intimate partner violence and its subsequent trauma by providing comprehensive survivor centered advocacy and services within a welcoming and culturally sensitive environment. Prioritizing survivors’ rights and supporting survivors’ desires to be free from violence and abuse.

The night consisted of dinner, a live auction and a silent auction. The amount of money made that evening was not available when the paper went to press, but from all appearances it was a very successful night for the organization. Proceeds from the event are used to help pay for emergency services including: shelter, clothing, meals, transportation, diapers and medical care, services that are necessary for victims as they flee their abusers.

To start the evening Executive Director, Kimberly Middleton, presented a plaque to Merrilee Hiler. Hiler started the program years ago while working at the County Courthouse and seeing the need for something to help victims in the community.

After acknowledging people who have played an integral role in getting the council where it is today, Middleton introduced the nights Keynote Speaker, Aleshea Boals who is an advocate from Canyon County. She explained her role in helping victims and congratulated ECDVC on the building of the much needed safe house. She brought Bailey Peterson with her to the event. Peterson explained that she is the daughter of a victim of abuse and came home to her mom, who had been killed at the hands of her stepfather. Her moving speech solidifying the fact that the nights events were important on so many levels.

The evening ended on a high note with the drawing of the raffle ticket for a 1979 Corvette. The ECDVC has been selling tickets for the car, donated by Donna Bradbury, for close to a year at local events and regional car shows. (The final amount earned off the raffle is not available yet either) The winner of the classic and much coveted Corvette was Vernon Shockley.