WADESBORO- On Friday, Feb. 28, a steady line of hungry customers could be seen from the street filtering into Calvary Episcopal Church on Wade Street for the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition’s Annual BBQ fundraiser. There wasn’t an empty parking space to be found for blocks around.
The BBQ plates consisted of BBQ, baked beans, slaw, and a dessert. All desserts were donated by local individuals and churches. Though it’s supposed to last from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., they’ve run out of food by 2 p.m. the last five years, the demand and love for the BBQ is just that high.
“We’ve been doing the fundraiser since I’ve been here and I’ve been here for 13 years,” said Karen Baucom, Executive Director of the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition, who added, “It started as a way for the Coalition’s employees to raise funds because we are 100 percent grant-funded. We have to match our grants so we have to raise money for that. Grants are very limited on somethings, they’re restricted. If a grant won’t pay for something, if we have funds and donation money, we can assist a client that way.”
The Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition is unique among domestic violence agencies. “We don’t have a domestic violence shelter here. The reason being, we can’t keep victims safe here under a shelter. A shelter is very expensive to run. With us, what we do, we have a first-responding team. We’re one of the only agencies in North Carolina that have a first-responding team,” said Baucom.
“What that means is we’re on call 24 hours a day and we respond to the 911 calls. That includes going to the Magistrate’s Office or the hospital once a domestic incident has happened with sworn law enforcement,” said Baucom, “That way, we’re there right after the victim has gone through the violence and we can give them resources to get out. And, since we don’t have a shelter, we can give them some financial assistance to help them relocate.”
Every month, the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition helps anywhere from 15 – 65 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. These victims include men and women from all walks of life and backgrounds. “Everybody here is treated the same. We are non-judgmental,” said Baucom.
The funds raised by the Coalition during their annual BBQ go directly towards victim services and pay for things like household items and victim relocation. They work closely with the Sheriff’s Office during the fundraiser and deputies help deliver food orders across Wadesboro.“This is our big fundraiser for the year,” said Baucom. Local sponsors help pay for the food every year so all the money raised can be used to help the shelter.
These sponsors include Plank Road Realty, Brown Creek Animal Hospital, Leavitt Funeral Home, Poisson, Poisson, and Bower, PPLC, Anson Health Rehab, Southern Piedmont Piping, Tamya Wormack, Anson Pediatrics, Billy Gathings, Paula and Alex McCaskill of Southern Q Catering, Anson Sign Company, Wielika Restaurant, Calvary Episcopal Church, and Anson County Sheriff’s Department.
This year, the Coalition sold out of BBQ at 1 p.m., even earlier than last year. “We have a plan to triple our order next year. The final amount made was $6,526.50. This will all go to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to help them leave the violence,” said Baucom, who added, “We need to raise $30,000 a year so if any would like to donate to our agency we really could use the help.”
“We will be in need of volunteers for next year’s BBQ – everyone knows how good our BBQ is and we are getting bigger and bigger every year so we will need the help. We want to thank everyone that came out and showed there support. And to all the volunteers that did help, I can not thank them enough for the hard work,” said Baucom.
