RINGLING TOYS BRING COMFORT TO KIDS

Last night (February 19, 2013), Ringling volunteers participated in the SPARCC Toy Making Event.  SPARCC, the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center, is the only state-certified center for Domestic Violence in Sarasota and DeSoto counties.  It provides education and awareness to the community on issues of domestic and sexual violence, as well as crisis counseling, safety planning, children’s services, and emergency shelters.

The SPARCC Toy Making Event, led by RVo Student Coordinator, Kaitlyn Priestly, provides stuffed toys for children who have been temporarily displaced due to domestic or sexual violence.   Children who are relocated to an emergency shelter with their family often do so abruptly, sometimes not allowing time to grab the belongings which they see as familiar and comforting.  Kaitlyn’s goal is to provide these children with something they can hug and call their own during such hard times.  The volunteers made 11 new toys for the shelter!

You can learn more about SPARCC and their services at http://www.sparcc.net/index.html. 

A huge thank you to Kaitlyn Priestly for leading this event, and to our volunteers: Miriam Gaudet, Megan Varde, Morgan Trent, Karaissa Costa, Justine Hamer, Dee Garone, and Rvo members Susan Saulnier, John Treanor and Karen Arango!

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