South Eastman Rotary Club hosted their annual fundraising banquet at Mennonite Heritage Centre Thursday evening to benefit two local organizations; Agape House and Recreational Opportunities for Children (ROC).

Natasha Doerksen shared how ROC helped her two children, after ROC Board Secretary Shauna Doerksen-Kozak's presentation.

ROC Board Secretary Shauna Doerksen-Kozak says theirs is a unique organization where they try to remove all barriers a family may face getting their children to an activity. "Funds could go to registration costs, equipment costs or transportation costs - we really try to think outside the box." Doerksen-Kozak adds that they are an organization that does not have any guaranteed block funding "We definitely are reliant on fundraisers like this, individual donors and company sponsorships to help us do the work that we do. We are presently helping about 40 children, so if funding allows, we would like to increase the number of children helped, as well as reach out into South Eastman communities we haven't served yet."

Willie Wiebe provided beautiful classical guitar music throughout the evening's event.Newly appointed Agape House Executive Director Pam Hadder says women around the world are marginalized and are disproportionately subjected to abuse and violence and it's because of patriarchal structures in society that fuel gender-based violence towards women. “In North America actually more men die of crime-related violence, but when women are killed in Canada, 85-90% are killed by intimate partners. There's actually a term for this type of killing which is “femicide” versus homicide. It is because they are female.”

Hadder adds that there are many complex factors behind violence towards women, which includes very subtle messages females receive from the time they're small children, that some how they are inadequate. “We as a society need to address this and get to the roots of this violence. That's why our work at Agape House is so important because we're helping to inform and empower women and their children to break that cycle. No man, woman or child should be subjected to abuse and violence.”

Agape House Counsellor Advocate Meghan Edwards in charge of outreach work says a new preventative presentation for middle and high school students, staff and youth leaders has been well received by participants. “It's age appropriate, interactive, fun, hits different learning styles and talks about what healthy relationships look like, what consent is and what to do if you or a friend needs help. Because the reality is young people talk to each other often before going to talk to a parent or trusted older individual, so it's important to get the information into the hands of the peers so that they can help each other, and we see that as an important preventative step.”

Edwards adds based on evaluation form feed back from the presentations, issues surrounding what their (youth) rights are, how they deserve to be treated and what the options are if they're not being

One of the many silent auction winners collects his prize from South Eastman Rotary Secretary Shannon Gerbrandt while Rotary President Mike Lynes looks on from his table.treated that way are comments that stood out to her. “A lot of students believe jealousy is love, but really that's control, so talking that through with youth is one concrete way that it is preventative.”

Hadder adds that one in three women will experience violence or sexual assault. Agape House answers over 1,000 calls on their 24-hour crisis line per year, but do not receive any government funding for it or follow-up and non-residential work.

South Eastman Rotary Club members raise funds for valuable community organizations and programs, and each year choose a different organization, project or program to support through their annual fundraising event, as well as fund the D.A.R.E. program in schools. For more information, contact South Eastman Rotary Club at 204-326-4514.