Fundraiser benefits Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition

PEACHLAND — People from as far away as Charlotte, Pageland, and Indian Trail gathered to Vineyard at the Old Place to sample pairings of wine and appetizers and raise money for the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition (ACDVC).

The event was the brainchild of Dorrie Evans, co-owner of Vineyard at the Old Place, and Laura Laney, an Independent Consultant for Pampered Chef.

“I live about ten minutes away from the Old Place,” explained Laney. “When I heard the Vineyard had opened, I checked it out and met Dorrie and her husband. I wanted to do something with them. One of the things we offer at Pampered Chef are some wine products, wine stoppers, wine tumblers, that kind of thing”

Founded in 1980, Pampered Chef is a multi-level marketing company that offers kitchen tools, cookbooks, and food products. These items are often sold by a representative during parties and other social gatherings

After meeting the Evans, Laney said she thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to do something together with Dorrie and her husband?”

“I thought this would be a great way to partner with them,” she added, “especially after their trouble opening right before the pandemic started.”

Laney and Evans began discussing what shape the event should look like.

“Pampered Chef,” said Laney, “one of the parts of the organization is that they offer a fundraiser platform. Instead of just being parties for people, you can create a party for an organization and a percentage of the sales made during the event goes towards that organization. The organization we chose was the ACDVC.”

One reason why Evans and Laney decided to host a fundraiser for ACDVC was Laney’s personal connection with the organization.

“I am a domestic violence survivor,” said Laney. “I always felt it was very important what the ACDVC does. I was very thankful that when I went through that I had my faith, family, and financial resources to help me get through that. A lot of people need more support. I actually still needed outside support. I was able to have an advocate from a community service where I lived at the time help me get through the court system, help me know what to do. That was such a big benefit for me.”

“I’m so thankful that ACDV is available to the men and women in Anson County who need it,” said Laney.

Fundraising is especially important for the ACDVC.

“Us being a nonprofit, we have to match 20 percent of all our grant funds,” explained Baucom.

COVID-19 has not only put a damper on fundraising opportunities, but stay-at-home isolation has also resulted in even more need for the services the ACDVC provides.

“There has been an increase and there’s been an increase in new clients that never had been involved in domestic violence before,” said Baucom.

Funds raised at events, such as the one held at Vineyard at the Old Place are allocated directly into client services.

“Client services can help relocate a client,” said Baucom. “It can maintain a client at home without the abuser, provide a bust ticket to get them to safety, it could provide transportation so they can get back and forth to court or doctor’s visits because of domestic violence or sexual assault. It could also provide clothing for job interviews. Anything that helps the client to get away from the abuser.”

Upon entering the Vineyard, guests were handed a sheet with the recipes for the appetizers as well as the wine pairings they were associated with. Laney and her staff made up of her children, plated the appetizers for the guests, based on their selections and then took them over to their seats.

“Some people then bought a bottle of wine and then went out on the porch to enjoy the view,” said Laney. “It was a very relaxed and enjoyable event.”

Laney earned a cast-iron skillet set from Pampered Chef, which she plans on donating to the ACDVC to be used an item to be raffled off in the future.

“There were multiple goals we had for this event,” said Laney. “The primary goal was to increase awareness of the Coalition so that people in Anson County knew that resource was available to them. Another was to gain visibility for the vineyard. And our other goal was to raise some funds for the Coalition. All of those goals were successful.

“I just want people to know that we at the ACDVC are here for anyone is in a domestic violence or sexual assault situation,” said Baucom. “All our services are free at no cost. We have a licensed trauma therapist on staff that’s here for the people of Anson County.”