West End Terrace will host “Crafternoon,” a spring fundraiser to benefit CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center, Saturday, April 25.
“Crafternoon” tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door and include craft beer and wine tastings, as well as a BBQ buffet. Local music group Love & Valor and Elon University’s Vital Signs will perform.
“The Board of Directors [of CrossRoads] was looking for a more relaxed atmosphere and all around fun event for the community,” said Austin Davis, a crisis intervention volunteer of three years and member of the CrossRoads Board of Directors We have such a strong connection to Elon University that it just made sense to have it here
CrossRoads is a local agency that serves child and adult survivors of sexual assault and trauma. The mission of the organization is to provide survivors with confidential counseling and treatment as well as community education and awareness.
According to data collected by the National Children’s Alliance, more than 6,400 children were served at accredited child advocacy centers (CACs) in North Carolina in 2011. CACs are specifically designed to protect child victims rather than to investigate and prosecute criminals. CrossRoads, a Burlington-based CAC, provides free services to adults and children in both Alamance and Caswell counties.
“[The most difficult part of volunteering is] understanding that the majority of survivors in our community don’t walk through our doors and get the help that they need or deserve,” Davis said. Still, it’s empowering to bring hope and light back into the lives of the survivors who choose to seek help, she added.
CrossRoads established a home in Burlington in 1976 as the Rape Crisis Alliance. Since then, it has grown from an all-volunteer team to include social workers, therapists and community members. The CrossRoads team is now large enough to manage a 24-hour crisis hotline for confidential counseling.
“The women that work at CrossRoads are truly heroes of this community, and I’ve learned so much from their wisdom, experience and passion,” said Lauren Berk, a senior who has been involved with CrossRoads since she was assigned an internship at the organization during a human services class her sophomore year. Berk has continued to help with court accompaniment and crisis hotline volunteering. She was recently recognized with the Governor’s award for outstanding service — an award given annually to 20 volunteers in North Carolina.
“We have a strong presence of volunteers and interns from Elon University, which is amazing,” Davis said. “Our relationship with Elon has been nothing but positive, and we’re looking forward to an even better future with them.”