BALTIMORE — October is domestic violence awareness month and during this time dozens of local and national groups host events dedicated to survivors of domestic violence.
Tuesday, KCW Engineering Technologies held their annual Cookout for a Cause feeding many people in the community while helping some women and children who need it most.
“We’ve always given to the community, but we wanted to pick a core charity so that we could not just be giving to something, but really wrap their minds around how to help the cause and be like a beacon in the community for spreading awareness,” Melissa Walker said, Organizer and CFO of KCW Melissa Walker.
Spreading awareness about domestic violence and the impact it can have on the many people who’ve experienced it. It’s something Walker knows all too well because she too is a domestic violence survivor.
“I understand some of the ins and outs of this behavior. So that is definitely one of the things that brought my heart towards this cause. It’s because growing up, it was something that I experienced in my younger years, and so I feel like as a woman business owner, but also as a woman, that I need to help women and children in need,” Walker said.
The help from KCW this year continued with their annual cookout for a cause where they sold hotdog and hamburger lunch meals for a small fee to donate all of the proceeds to House of Ruth, who’s primary mission is to help those families involved in domestic violence.
Sophia Benitez-Cuffee, who's the Donor Engagement Coordinator for House of Ruth, said their mission does not end with helping women and children, but that’s where it begins.
“The misconception about House of Ruth is that we’re just an emergency shelter and we do more than that. We do counseling, we do child care, we have obviously emergency housing and rapid rehoming, but on the other end of that we have are amazing training institute which goes out into the community and explain to people what domestic violence is,” Benitez-Cuffee said.
House of Ruth also helps employers recognize when an employee could potentially be facing domestic abuse in addition to working with abusers themselves to identify and prevent future violent behavior.
“I would say that there are people out there that want to help you and if it’s a story that you want to hide and it’s probably a story that you need to share to check in with someone to make sure that you are in a healthy relationship,” Walker said.
All of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the House of Ruth. WMAR is also participating in a fill the house which also donates to House of Ruth to learn where you can donated click here.
