News and Events
3/5/2015
The Children's Law Center of Central North Carolina is honored to receive recognition this year from the Winston-Salem Chronicle and Outreach Alliance for Babies for our work in advocating for children in homest with domestic violence and parental strife.
The Chronicle's Community Service awards were created “to simply recognize people in this community who are making a difference,” said Chronicle Publisher Ernie Pitt.
The event started as a luncheon then grew.
“It got to be so big that we had to have it at night and on the weekend,” Pitt said. “We have a community filled with great people who are doing and have done great things. We feel now as we always felt, that we need to pat more people on the back who have gone above and beyond the ordinary.”
Pitt said The Chronicle has had help with the gala. “The only way that we are able to do this is because of the support of major corporations, who believe, as we believe, that when you have great people, you have a great community.”
The awards will be presented Saturday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the M.C. Benton Convention Center. Tickets are $30, and include a six-month subscription to The Chronicle. Tickets are available by calling 336-722-8624, ext. 100, or by picking them up at The Chronicle, 617 N. Liberty St.
Outreach Alliance for Babies will hold its 11th Annual Banquet, "Celebrating Citizens Who Have Made A Difference" on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30pm at the Embassy Suites. Tickets are available here.
Outreach for Babies' mission is to provide clothing and other items such as car seats to infants in the community whose families are facing financial challenges. Agencies in Forsyth County contact the Alliance when they have a client with "significant financial" needs which prevent them from purchasing needed items for their child. The client may either be in the last trimester of pregnancy or the infant may be a newborn.
From The Pilot
Local Farmer Fights Domestic Violence
by Diane Blakemore
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Local farmer, Jane Morgan Smith, is using her unique product to make a difference in the community. Smith is organizing Heart of the Community, a Valentine’s day dinner, to benefit the Children’s Law Center.
In 2000, Smith began growing truffles at her farm in King. The farm consists of two orchards whose root systems were inoculated with spores to grow truffles. Smith’s border collie, Friday, is trained to hunt truffles growing under the ground by smell. Her business, Truffles NC, specializes in black winter perigord truffles in a variety of products including butter creme, honey, salt, and white chocolate.
As the farm became established, Smith wanted to do more to help the community, so three years ago she planned her first benefit dinner. According to Smith, her aim was to help relieve childhood hunger. After two years of benefits and raising $15,000 for King Outreach Ministry and the school backpack program, Smith decided it wasn’t enough.
“Providing food is great, but I really wanted to get to the core of the issue, the disintegration of the family unit,” explained Smith.
In October, Smith attended an event called Home Free which was put on by the Children’s Law Center and Family Services. Impressed with their work advocating for children in custody and domestic violence cases, Smith contacted Susan Conley, director of development, about hosting a benefit dinner.
The Children’s Law Center has served more than 250 children in Forsyth and surrounding counties in the past year. According to Iris Sunshine, executive director of the Children’s Law Center, they are appointed for high conflict custody cases and cases involving substance abuse, domestic violence, or mental health issues.
The staff of five, along with numerous pro bono attorneys, gather information from family, schools, social workers and medical providers to create a comprehensive report which help judges make informed decisions.
Sunshine said, “It is important for people to realize that domestic violence has far reaching effects on children who witness and grow up in that environment.”
She added that children are suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder from the traumatic situations in which they live. Children who regularly witness violence and abuse are 70 percent more likely to become victims or abusers, according to Sunshine. She explained that intervention in these cases can help break the cycle of violence, providing a safer, stable, loving environment for the children. “Our goal is to address the impact and reverse it,” said Sunshine.
The Children’s Law Center relies on grants and private donations to operate. “We are honored to be the beneficiaries of this event,” said Sunshine. The proceeds of the dinner will go toward the organization’s operating expenses. “We are a lean machine,” Sunshine said of their budget.
The Heart of the Community truffle dinner will be held on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., with an optional wine tasting beginning at 6 p.m. The menu will consist of five courses of locally sourced and heavily truffled dishes with wine pairings. Entertainment will include live Celtic music and a short presentation about the Children’s Law Center. The $100 per person tickets are available by contacting jane@trufflesnc.com or 336-631-8080.
Several area businesses are partnering with Truffles NC in the benefit. Bird on a Wire is organizing the event. Laura Hardy Creative has assisted with the logo and marketing. The Living Room is hosting the event and preparing the food. Ashgrove, a local band, will be performing.
The Children’s Law Center has an ongoing need for support. To volunteer or make a donation, contact Iris Sunshine at isunshine@childrenslawcenternc.org.
Diane Blakemore may be reached at 336-368-2222 or on twitter @PilotReporter.
Read the article at The Pilot
October 17. 2014
Photos from Home Free 2014, presented in partnership with Family Services at the Benton Convention Center, are here!
Thank you to our photographers
David Erickson of The Foothills Times
On Oct. 16, Forsyth County took a giant step toward eliminating domestic violence when nearly 500 individuals gathered at the Benton Convention Center to hear Naomi Judd speak at the third annual Home Free luncheon (“Celebrations of family in the fall,” Oct. 26).
Judd gave a moving account of the roots of violence in her family. Her story illustrated that violence toward one woman is also violence toward her children and toward us all.
Through the generosity of its sponsors and supporters, Home Free raised over $115,000 to further the reach of Family Services and the Children’s Law Center of Central NC. We heartily thank each and every one of them.
Yet current resources lag well behind the needs. With domestic violence recently making news headlines, calls to Family Services’ domestic violence hotline increased by 40 percent. Without intervention, victims of all ages will suffer mental and physical maladies that can last for the rest of their lives. By addressing the root causes of domestic violence through counseling and supportive services, homes that were places of fear can become places of peace.
Judd opened hearts and minds to the devastating consequences of violence in relationships. She issued a call to action, challenging us to continue to address the widespread impact of domestic violence as a community – in our homes, our places of work, our schools and our houses of worship. We are committed to continuing the conversation in order to achieve our goal: to end domestic violence in Forsyth County.
Feikema is the CEO and president of Family Services. Sunshine is the executive director of the Children’s Law Center of Central NC. – the editor
November 12, 2014
CLC is honored to announce that the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation has continued its support of our work with a grant in the amount of $12,811.
The purposes of the NCBA Foundation Endowment are:
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To build respect for and understanding of the law;
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To support the delivery of legal services to eligible indigent communities;
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To support legally related community service projects;
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To study, improve and facilitate the administration of justice; and
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To enhance the professional competence of lawyers.
October 31, 2014
Toddlers can both sense adult anger and alter their behavior in response to it, new research reveals.
"Babies are like sponges," said study co-author Andrew Meltzoff, co-director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, in Seattle. "They learn not only from their own direct social experiences but from watching the social interactions between two other people."
He said he was most surprised at how emotionally "sophisticated" the babies were at such a young age.