ISSUE

2

20 15

IN THIS ISSUE

Bash at the Brewery Spirit of Spring

2

3

2015 Cherish the Child Awards

4

Child Abuse Awareness Month 5 H.O.I.S.T.

5

Volunteer Highlights

6

Capital Campaign Update 6

T he C hi l d r e n’s A s s e s s me nt C e nt e r

Restoring Hope - Rebuilding Lives Human Trafficking The Children’s assessment Center proudly joins Congressman Ted Poe’s Congressional Human Trafficking Advisory Council to raise awareness. Unfortunately, Houston is a major hub for domestic Human Trafficking. In 2013, The National Human Trafficking Resource Center tip line received more calls from Houston than from any other American city. That’s not something to be proud of, but a sad reality. Statistics indicate that the majority of Human Trafficking victims are young girls and boys, running away from abusive homes. In fact, in 2014 the Senate estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 American-born youth were at risk of becoming victims of domestic sex trafficking. Often, these children are as young as twelve and thirteen years old. Domestic victims of Human Trafficking are usually minors, recruited in schools, at malls, off streets and from bus stations. Roughly, one-third of runaway children will be forced into the commercial sex trade industry within two days of running away. Sex trafficking has become a lucrative illegal industry. Unlike drugs, which can be sold only once, young children can be sold over and over again. Congressman Ted Poe challenged the Council to raise awareness regarding the issue of Human Trafficking in our community. In response, The Children’s Assessment Center has created the “Teams Against Trafficking” Committee for a Safe Super Bowl. This committee looks to educate our community on the signs of Human Trafficking we can all easily be aware of. If you would like to join our efforts around this issue, please contact us so that together we can make a difference for these innocent children. We look forward to hearing from you. Elaine Stolte, Executive Director The Children’s Assessment Center

The Children’s Assessment Center’s mission is to provide a professional, compassionate and coordinated approach to the treatment of sexually abused children and their families and to serve as an advocate for all children in our community.

Band Members Gary Cooper & David Acosta

The 1st Annual

at the

The Children’s Assessment Center hosted the First Annual Bash at the Brewery Event on Tuesday, February 24th at St. Arnold’s Brewery. David Key and David Acosta, CAC Board members, generously shared their talent with the guests as they performed popular classic-rock hits with their fellow band members of The Offering Band. Chevron & Friends The Offering Band is a collection of working professionals giving back by playing a collection of music for no charge at charity fundraisers. More than 150 guests mingled, listened to music and enjoyed barbeque from Goode Co. Barbeque all while sampling the many beers St. Arnold’s is known for. CAC Director, Elaine Stolte, thanked everyone for attending and for showing their support. She added that The CAC is thankful for supporters such as the attendees at Ward & Lauren Maloy, Allison & Adam Flikerski

the Bash at the Brewery who help not only spread awareness, but also encourage prevention of child sexual abuse. Dr. Lawrence Thompson, Supervisor of Therapy and Psychological Services at The CAC, also shared a story and a letter from a 15-year old sexual abuse survivor who has received counseling services from The CAC. Dr. Thompson stated that her story was an example of the strength and courage of so many of the sexual abuse survivors The CAC helps each and every year. Thank you to all who came out to support The Children’s Assessment Center!

Derek Key, Matt Hoss & Brandon Grosvenor

SPIRIT OF SPRING HIGHLIGHTS

Spirit Spring

T h e C h i l d r e n ’s A s s e s s m e n t C e n t e r

of

Spring

Monica Blaisdell, Joanna Marks, Hannah McNair (Event Chairs)

Luncheon & Fashion Show

The Spirit of Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show is The Children’s Assessment Center’s premier fundraising event of the year. The money raised is critical to the success of The Children’s Assessment Center’s programs and services. To find out how you can be a part of this exciting event contact Madelyn Perry at 713-986-3370 or [email protected]

The 16th Annual Spirit of Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show benefiting The Children’s Assessment Center was held on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at the

Guest Speaker, Sasha Neulinger & CAC Director, Elaine Stolte

Royal Sonesta. This year’s Spirit of Spring marked a very special occasion as The CAC celebrated 16 years of Houston pledging support for child victims of sexual abuse. It was a full house with over 460 supporters in attendance helping to raise over $330,000 for programs that are critical to the healing of child victims of sexual abuse. Outstanding event chairs Monica Blaisdell, Joanna Marks and Hannah McNair planned a delightful afternoon with the perfect mix of fabulous spring and summer

Gina Gaston & Mistress of Ceremonies, Dominique Sachse

fashions coupled with a focus on the serious issue of child abuse and how we as a community can better protect our children. A highlight of the afternoon was when Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia presented a check in the amount of $500,000 to The CAC’s Capital Campaign. This contribution was made on behalf of the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office and was money from their Asset Forfeiture Fund. The fashions for this year’s show were provided by Neiman Marcus and featured designer Lela Rose. The guest speaker for the event was Sasha Joseph Neulinger, a remarkable young man, and a survivor of child sexual abuse. Sasha is currently directing an independent documentary film titled, Rewind to Fast-Forward. The documentary uses home movies, filmed by Sasha’s dad over his entire childhood. It shows how his life deteriorated as the abuse secretly went on, and how his journey eventually took him from being a victim to being a survivor.

Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia & CAC Executive Director, Elaine Stolte

Christopher DeClaire, Rachel Bristow & Paul Bragg

Brady Crosswell, Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Yvette Webb & Elaine Stolte

The 12th Annual

Cherish the Child Donor Appreciation & Presentation of The 2015 Humanitarian Awards

On Wednesday, April 1, 2015, The Children’s Assessment Center hosted the 2015 Cherish the Child Donor Appreciation event thanking all supporters and donors who have made contributions throughout the year in support of the children and families served by The CAC. Guests enjoyed a festive evening filled with the sounds of mariachis, along with delicious cuisine by Pappasito’s Cantina, as well as margaritas and sangria! Brady Crosswell, Emily Crosswell & Holcombe Crosswell

Local Foods generously donated dessert bites for all of the guests to enjoy. The CAC Board of Directors and CAC Executive Director, Elaine Stolte recognized the 2015 Humanitarian Award Recipients: Crosswell and Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Frost Bank, Brady E. These recipients were

selected for their outstanding support and dedication to the children and families served by The Children’s Assessment Center. On behalf of our children, we express our sincerest appreciation to all who support The Children’s Assessment Center through their time, talents, resources Kari Fuquay, Yvette Webb & Daphne Scarbrough

and gifts!

The Children’s Assessment Center kicks off Child Abuse Awareness Month H.O.I.S.T CONTRIBUTIONS REACH $1 MILLION!

CAC staff kicked off April National Child Abuse Awareness Month by tying blue ribbons outside of The CAC. Blue is a symbol of those children who have died as a result of child abuse and in support of efforts to prevent abuse. Each April, CAC staff and community volunteers raise awareness through outreach and education about child abuse and neglect and National Charity LeagueHeart of Texas Chapter decorating The CAC with blue ribbons for Child Abuse Awareness Month

encourage individuals and communities to support children and families. We would like to send a special thank you to the National Charity League’s Heart of Texas Chapter for helping us decorate The CAC grounds with the beautiful ribbons.

Thank you National Charity LeagueHeart of Texas Chapter!

The Children’s Assessment Center would like to extend our most sincere appreciation for the continued and overwhelming level of support and commitment that H.O.I.S.T. has provided to child victims of sexual abuse in Harris County. This year was a milestone! Total donations to The CAC by H.O.I.S.T reached 1,000,000! We are truly grateful that generous organizations in the private sector have provided tremendous support for the sexually abused children we serve. We are touched by H.O.I.S.T.’s commitment to making a difference in their lives. On behalf of our young clients, we cannot thank you enough for your kind generosity. The monies raised through the Houston Oilman’s Invitational Shooting Tournament will enable us to continue fulfilling our mission— to protect children and give them back the childhood they deserve.

We Love H.O.I.S.T!

Volunteer Highlights

The Children’s Assessment Center has many opportunities

for

those

interested

in

volunteering their time and unique talents toward restoring hope and healing to sexually

abused children and their families. We would like to give special thanks to Westbrae Post Office for their recent donation of shoes to The CAC’s Rainbow Room. It is great Thank you to Li Huang for presenting our families with a Kung Fu demonstration during CAC’s Summer Fun Events. The children had a blast!

to be able to provide this resource to children in need. We would also like to thank The Heart of Texas Chapter of the National Charity League for decorating the trees and lights outside of The CAC with blue ribbons to help us kick-off Child Abuse Awareness Month in April. We cannot wait to do this again next year. Finally, we would like to thank CAC Playroom Volunteer, Li Huang for presenting a Kung Fu demon-





stration during this year’s Summer Fun events in the playroom. The children had a blast!

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Ways You Can Help

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Still in school

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Capital CampaignUpdate Phase II Phase I

Restoring Hope - Rebuilding Lives

C A P I TA L C A M PA I G N D O N AT I O N S

0

Dr. Robert Block, Former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, considers traumatic childhood experiences and their long-term affects to be the single greatest public health threat in the United States. In the late 1990’s, Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 17,337 adult participants about their history of exposure to adverse childhood experiences and their results created the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study). The ACE Study links adverse childhood experiences with medical, mental, and social problems in adults affecting overall health outcomes and for some individuals, resulting in upwards of a 20 year difference in life expectancy. Through the ACE Study, we now know that early traumatic childhood experiences affect developing brains and bodies such as their immune system, hormonal system, and even the way DNA is read and transcribed. These differences are tangible and are measurable in tests such as MRI scans. Children with higher ACE scores are 4 times as likely to suffer from depression, 12 times as likely to be suicidal, 3 times as likely to have lung cancer, and almost 4 times as likely to suffer from ischemic heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. What this means for The Children’s Assessment Center is that we are treating not just victims of sexual abuse, but children who have suffered trauma that is scientifically proven to be detrimental to their health for the rest of their life. At The CAC, we have the opportunity to heal children holistically utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that will heal children through medical services, therapy and psychological services, community education and prevention. The CAC realizes the magnitude of child sexual abuse and we are dedicated to ensuring we have the space and staff to prevent, treat, and heal children of Harris County. This significant development only reinforces our urgency to reach our capital campaign fundraising goal. If you want to make a lifelong impact on the overall health of a child, donate to our capital campaign to help us better prevent and treat child sexual abuse in Harris County!

26

million

32million

1%

Understanding ACE Study

the

Mechanisms by Which Adverse Childhood Experiences Influence Health and Well-being Throughout the Lifespan

Death

Conception

NONPROFIT US Postage

T h e C h i l dr en’s A s s es s me nt Ce nt e r Th e J o h n M. O’Qu in n Cam pus 2500 B o l so ver, Ho u s to n, TX 7 7 0 0 5 P h o n e: 7 13 .9 8 6 .3 3 0 0 F ax : 7 1 3 .9 8 6 .3 5 5 3 www.facebook.com/CACHouston w ww.cach o u s to n.org

PAID Houston, TX Permit No.10517

twitter @cachoutx

CAC FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gail Prather President Brady Crosswell Chairman Mark Anderson Treasurer Paul Bragg Assistant Treasurer Paulette Arana, D.D.S. Secretary David Acosta Ericka Bagwell Susan Boggio Diane Caplan Christopher DeClaire David Elmer Emily Essaye Jessica Farley Allison Flikerski Rhonda Graff Yolanda Green William Henderson Ursaline Hamilton David Key Kelley Lubanko Lauren Maloy Marta Mattox John Sinders Yvette Webb Kelli Weinzierl Phyllis Williams

The Children’s Assessment Center

2500 Bolsover St. Houston, TX 77005 Phone: 713-986-3300 cachouston.org [email protected]