of the budget: Brunch & Bubbles and Chocolate Fest, hosted by GCKH, and the Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival hosted by Northeast Pensacola Sertoma Club. Brunch & Bubbles is a 300-person event that takes place at Portofino pool deck, Chocolate Fest is a 2,000-person event that takes place at Cordova Mall and Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival, hosted at Bayview Park and can yield up to 8,000 spectators and participants. Public Relations and Events Manager, Bradley Sanders explained the importance of these events and the campaign.
Hope & Healing
A Campaign to Support Gulf Coast Kid’s House
B
by Dakota Parks
etween the closures, cancellations and social distancing, COVID-19 has been tough on everyone—child advocacy centers (CACs) are no exception. Since 1998, Gulf Coast Kid’s House (GCKH) has been providing the community child abuse education and prevention. GCKH combines all of the professionals and resources needed for the intervention, investigation and 18 | DOWNTOWNCROWD.COM
prosecution of child abuse cases under one collaborative roof. Due to COVID-19, all fundraising events in 2020 to raise money for GCKH have been cancelled, prompting the pressing need for the Hope & Healing Campaign. A large portion of the budget for GCKH comes from charitable donations and fundraising. Three events make up a notable portion
at the facility are safe. Funds raised by the Hope & Healing Campaign will help the Child Protection Team that GCKH employs across four counties at three other CACs including Santa Rosa Kids House and the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Centers located in Defuniak Springs and Niceville. “The campaign will also help fund virtual child abuse education. We partnered with the Escambia County School District to teach every student K through 12 about human trafficking.” Sanders said. “Human trafficking is child abuse. The Prevention Team has been using programs from the Monique Burr Foundation to teach children at school assemblies, which can no longer happen. Now, we have to go virtual this year.”
“There is no way to host events of those size right now, but our job doesn’t stop during a pandemic. We still provide services to over 3,000 children a year. In Escambia County one in ten children are experiencing abuse,” Sanders said. “When a child comes to our facility, they're usually brought by law enforcement or Department of Children and Families and they’re taken for a one-time recorded interview by the Child Protection Team. That’s really Advocates participating in National Wear Blue Day important because no victims should have to retell their stories more than once This won’t be the first time GCKH and relieve traumas or forget imhas gone virtual for child abuse portant details.” education. During COVID-19, they switched gears to create educaAs Sander’s explained, the GCKH tional children’s videos on Youteam responded quickly to the deTube aimed at core age groups. mands of COVID-19 by securing Their virtual adult training prevenample personal protective equiption module, Safe Kid Zone, creatment and updating protocols to ed in partnership with Leadership ensure medical staff and children Pensacola’s Class of 2019 goes
