Child Advocacy Center receives $15,000 from auction

LACONIA — On March 30, the Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center (GLCAC) based in Laconia received a donation of $15,000 from Binnie Media’s NH1 Children’s Auction. For over thirty years, the annual NH1 Children's Auction on WLNH in Laconia raises funds through volunteer efforts, community donations and corporate partnerships throughout the Lakes Region and Central New Hampshire. All funds raised are donated New Hampshire non-profits that support children and families. The Laconia based GLCAC served over 180 children and their families in 2014.

This year’s donation to the Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center will aid its mission to provide juvenile crime victims a safe, child focused location to be interviewed while coordinating the investigative team and providing ongoing help for the victim’s recovery. Based on a nationally recognized model, New Hampshire’s Child Advocacy Centers are community partnerships dedicated to pursuing the truth in child abuse cases and coordinating social services for child victims. The work of Child Advocacy Center assists in holding offenders accountable through the criminal justice system.

Program Director Meghan Noyes said “The continued support of the NH1 Children’s Auction demonstrates the overwhelming commitment of our community to children. We are honored everyday to witness the strength and resiliency of children within our community and we are grateful for the Lakes Region community to recognize the critical need for the Child Advocacy Center to be available to all children in the Lakes Region. We must continue to provide community outreach and education on the realities of child abuse. National statistics suggest that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Beyond these numbers, statistics suggest that only 1 out of 10 children who have been victims of sexual abuse as a child will disclose. Essentially, as a community that is telling us 9 out of 10 children who have been victims of sexual abuse are not telling anyone. We have a lot of work to do, but I am proud to say that the Lakes Region is dedicated to reducing those numbers and providing crucial services to children. The most important component of the CAC process that is told to us often by children is that “they are believed.”