fbpx Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center Receives Gift of $500,000 for Campaign to Help Meet the Needs of Children in the Lowcountry - Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center Receives Gift of $500,000 for Campaign to Help Meet the Needs of Children in the Lowcountry

July 17, 2018

Charleston, S.C, January 11, 2018 – Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, the region’s leading resource to prevent abuse, protect children and heal families, has received a $500,000 challenge gift to their capital campaign, Above and Beyond: The Campaign to Help Children Soar. The campaign, now in its final month, has raised $4.75 million, just $250,000 shy of the $5 million goal.

The Center met a $500,000 challenge set by The Medical Society’s Roper St. Francis Physicians Endowment and received an additional $500,000 grant from the organization upon completion.

“Children who have experienced abuse are at risk for not only emotional problems, but a number of health problems,” says John Holloway, CEO of the Medical Society of South Carolina, “Child victims are at a higher risk for high blood pressure, asthma and obesity. These medical problems are worst for children with the most severe emotional distress.  The Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center recognizes these risks and provides children with medical exams and therapy to ensure they get the services they need to heal. That’s why we are pleased to partner with the Center and provide them with this financial support.”

The campaign, announced in May 2017, will enable the Center to open a new second full-service center and renovate its existing King Street location, allowing the organization to serve twice as many children in Charleston and Berkeley counties. When the expansion is completed, the Center will be positioned to meet the projected need and help up to 72,000 children over the next 20 years.

“This campaign will change the lives of children in the Lowcountry,” says Dr. Carole C. Swiecicki, Dee Norton’s executive director and CEO. “Right now, our downtown location is at capacity. Without this expansion, we will have to turn away children who are desperate for healing. This campaign will ensure no child will be turned away.”

“We have seen an amazing response from the community for this campaign,” says Beverly Hutchison, director of development and marketing at Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center. “Our progress shows how important the issue of child abuse is to the Charleston community.”

The Rice family made the campaign’s lead gift of $1 million to kick off the campaign. Anita Zucker, CEO of The InterTech Group, was also an early investor in the campaign with a gift of $500,000.

Work is already underway on the Center’s second location at 677 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant and is expected to be completed in spring 2018. The new facility will serve an area of urgent need and have the capacity to help 1,500 children each year.

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center’s level of care is so effective that more than 90 percent of children show no clinically significant trauma symptoms after treatment. A successful campaign will ensure that services are available to all children seeking help. The Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center has treated more than 26,000 children since opening in 1991. Last year the Center helped 1,808 children in Berkeley and Charleston counties.

To learn more or to make a pledge to the Above and Beyond campaign, please call Beverly Hutchison at 843.723.3600.

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