Several years ago, my wife and I were traveling back from a trade show. Our flight from Charlotte to Charlottesville had been canceled. It was late and the next flight wouldn’t be until the next day. So we rented an SUV and invited four others who were on the same flight to make the 4 hour drive home.

One of those people was Charlè, who worked at the Valley Children’s Advocacy Center. I had no idea what they did even though I had been active in the community for a couple of decades.

After that day, I helped them a little with their fundraising. Then the pandemic happened and we lost touch. In 2024, I popped into my old Rotary Club on a whim since I hadn’t been a member for a year or more. There was Charlè with her Executive Director Rebecca talking about the financial trouble the CAC was in.

It turned out that they were short $180,000 for their upcoming budget due to the slowdown in the Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) funding.

Over the next 6 weeks, I raised the $180,000 from private donors. Then in the Spring of 2025, I convinced the three local municipalities to each put in $50,000 along with the $30,000 from the Valley CMA Subaru dealership.

Now, I am on a quest to get the full funding for all 19 CACs in Virginia as well as the 20% of the Commonwealth that has no services.

How could you know about this and do nothing? I am looking for allies in this work. Now is the time for Virginia to do its duty and fully fund these services. I need your help. I can’t do this without you.

Brett Hayes