ALEXANDRIA'S ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE PRIORITY CARE THROUGH FUNDS RAISED AT SIXTH ANNUAL CAC GALA BENEFIT

Alexandria’s abused and neglected children will continue to receive priority care and services thanks to the generosity of community patrons who helped raise more than $100,000 to benefit The Center for Alexandria’s Children. The Center is the City’s primary resource for the prevention, investigation and treatment of child abuse. It protects children and strengthens families by operating an accredited Child Advocacy Center program, alongside Learn and PlayGroups that together serve more than 1,000 children and families a year.

The Center’s Sixth Annual Gala Benefit also honored two Alexandrians who have shown exceptional dedication and service to improving the lives of Alexandria’s children.

Early childhood educator Carri Stoltz was presented the 2015 Champions for Children Award for extraordinary service to Alexandria’s children for helping to create the Center’s Learn and PlayGroup early childhood program along with a bold new curriculum to enhance its community impact. The Center’s 2015 Outstanding Dedication to Children Award was awarded to Tawana Thompson, a 25-year veteran of the City’s Department of Social Services, for her commitment to serving and protecting Alexandria’s children through Foster Care, Family Services and Child Protective Services as well as for outstanding dedication to the Center’s Multidisciplinary Team which coordinates child abuse cases.

“I can tell you Carri is absolutely magical in the way she works with children and families,” Lori Morris said in presenting the award. Morris has also championed children in the community through her work as a board member with the Alexandria Community Trust, President of the Bruhn-Morris Family Community Trust and 2014 CAC award recipient. “She skillfully transformed the PlayGroup initiative, doubling the number of families participating and spending countless hours creating a dynamic new curriculum.”

Carri has worked with Alexandria’s youngest children since 1976, starting her career in the Alexandria City Public Schools as a Speech-Language Pathologist and Early Childhood Special Educator. She taught one of the first preschool classes for children with developmental delays and went on to become a Child Find Specialist, evaluating speech and language skills of thousands of preschool age children. As chair of the Center’s Playgroup Initiative and Program Director for the Learn and PlayGroups, Carri helped grow the program from three playgroups to ten free playgroups held throughout the City of Alexandria. She coordinated development of a new signature curriculum for the program, which includes ten monthly units of weekly lesson plans and parent guides in both English and Spanish. Her commitment to young children continues as she volunteers with the Parenting College offered through the Savannah Early Childhood Foundation.

Tawana Thompson is a 28-year veteran of the region’s child welfare system, having worked in the Sex Abuse Unit in Child Protective Services (CPS) in Baltimore, as a CPS lead investigator in Calvert County and most recently with the City of Alexandria. Tawana has held many roles in Alexandria including within the Ongoing CPS, Foster Care, and CPS Intake/Investigations units. She has served countless children who have been abused or are at risk for abuse or neglect. She has also trained and mentored many workers new to the CPS field.

“With a 28-year history working in the field of child welfare, 25 within Alexandria’s Department of Human Services, Tawana has been a role model, mentor and leader for her colleagues,” Center Executive Director Giselle Pelaez said. “Known for her passion and dedication to her work, Tawana’s advocacy for Alexandria’s children and families sets her apart.”

The Center’s sixth gala benefit was a “Disco Celebration” where a crowd of 250 patrons boogied to the sounds of the 1970’s. Featuring a silent auction, 50-50 raffle, and Be A Star table where patrons purchased toys and needed items for the Center, the CAC GALA supports the critical work of professionals dedicated to one goal: Eliminating child abuse in Alexandria.

Throughout the past year the Center provided comprehensive, coordinated, and compassionate care to 216 new children referred to its child advocacy center program, 81 of whom were children victimized by sexual abuse; 103 affected by physical abuse, 20 neglected children and 10 witnesses to violence.

“These numbers are unacceptable to the Center,” Pelaez said. “We will feel we have achieved our mission when these numbers no longer exist in our community.”

The Center’s focus on prevention and outreach programs has continued to grow, reaching more vulnerable families through its developmental playgroups program in which children learn through play, and adults learn parenting best practices from experts and from each other. Within the past year, playgroups grew from three groups to 13, serving more than 600 children, their parents and caregivers in weekly playgroup programs, centered around a new specialized curriculum developed and piloted to facilitate additional expansion opportunities.

With a mission to eradicate child abuse within the community, the Center has helped protect thousands of Alexandria children against child sexual abuse by training hundreds child-serving professionals through the nationally recognized Darkness 2 Light’s Stewards of Children Training Program. The program teaches trainees how to recognize and prevent crimes against children. D2L training includes professionals working with children in local non-profit and preschool communities, City staff and social workers, school principals, staff and student leaders. The Center also works with the Alexandria Police Department (APD), the Sheriff’s office and the Department of Community & Human Services to keep Alexandria’s children safe by providing SafeAssured Identification kits and child safety information at numerous events throughout the City.

For more information, visit the Center’s web site at www.centerforalexandriaschildren.org.

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