By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
As a part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Jana’s Campaign is hosting the annual Empty Place at the Table gala, a fundraising event for the organization’s prevention education programs.
Tickets for the event can be purchased online to attend in person or virtually. The event begins with a silent auction online on Thursday, and then the gala is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. The event will include a meal, a live auction and presentations from prevention educators with Jana’s Campaign.
Empty Place at the Table first took place in 2012, with the intention of not only raising money but also spreading awareness.
“The purpose is to show that when a life is lost to domestic violence, there’s an empty place at that family’s table,” Executive Director Kaiti Blackburn said. “So the purpose is to not only raise the funds, but also bring awareness to the impact that domestic violence can have on families, but also communities as well.”
The event is the largest fundraiser for Jana’s Campaign. Proceeds go towards trips to middle schools, high schools and universities, where Blackburn and Education and Prevention Specialist Larissa Whitney speak to students about the warning signs of unhealthy relationships.
They also talk about how to help someone experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking and their available resources. These programs are free for schools, which is made possible through the money raised at the gala.
According to Blackburn, the organization also receives money from grants to provide programming, but the money is sometimes restricted to certain projects.
“Raising funds at a fundraiser like this allows us to have more options in how we can spend that money,” she said. “It’s not specific for a program, so we can use it for a middle school program or we can use it for a college program.”
In addition to gas and staff time, proceeds from the gala also help pay for presentation supplies.
“With high schoolers, there’s candy and coloring pages, so it all adds up,” Whitney said.
Jana’s Campaign will also be a part of Strings of Support later this month, a presentation about the correlations between domestic violence and suicide. The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on October 22 in the Cody Commons at Fort Hays State University. More information about other upcoming events can be found on the Jana’s Campaign Facebook page.
Outside of October, people can continue to support those affected by domestic violence by volunteering, or even just educating themselves.
“We, unfortunately, have been taught that this is a private issue,” Blackburn said. “But we can really create change if we call out any kind of inappropriate behaviors that we see, whether that’s bullying, sexual harassment or any kind of physical violence. By being active bystanders, other people will see that we’re stepping in, and they, in turn will hopefully then the next time step in as well.”