LINCOLNTON, N.C. - In 2021, our CAC (Child Advocacy Center) was among the many who suffered a significant decrease in grant funding with a 67% budget cut and no funding for medicals needed when there has been an allegation of abuse.

This past January our local State Farm agent, Rich Lyon, presented us with an opportunity to apply for a $25,000 grant offered through the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program simply by writing an essay.  We submitted our essay and were selected to be one of 200 finalists out of 4000 entries.  We now need to solicit the help of the community by voting for our cause putting us in the top 100 to receive $25,000.

Voting is easy.  Scan the QR code (at right) to access our cause.  Log in with Facebook or email and submit 10 votes a day (with just one click) through Friday May 6th.  You can read our essay HERE.

Nationally, approximately 17.5% of all abuse cases are physical, with the largest percentage being neglect.  Here in Lincoln County, of the 265 cases we provided services for in 2021, 26% was a combination of physical abuse and neglect, well above the national average.  Many of these children rarely go to the doctor, sometimes never.  These are the children who will go through life not knowing what it’s like to be healthy, both physically and mentally.  These are the children that will go through life thinking its normal to hurt.  Studies show that children who are abused and neglected have a significantly higher risk of dying early in adulthood.  (American SPCC).  This is why it is so crucial for our medical program to be sustained and with the $25,000 from the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program, we can continue to provide services designed to break the cycle of abuse and help our children learn to live a life free of pain and injury.  At the risk of losing out on this opportunity to sustain our medical program, we must stay in the top 100.  Thank you for your support.