Storytelling
Child Abuse Prevention Center
“A lot of people aren’t focused on the social problem issues. A lot of people give a lot of money to arts, their church, their university. We are working in education with children at risk. If you had to walk in their shoes, could you? Not many people could.” – Ellen Wood, Lead Partner
Child Abuse Prevention is an organization which considers its primary mission one that is not well known and under-funded by the state. According to Margaret Patterson, the executive director of the organization, one of her most memorable moments occurred at a strategic planning mission when a lead partner questioned her about providing free services. “[He] could not understand why we offered services for free. He understood when he finally realized that [Texas] does not fund prevention [of abuse].”
Ellen Wood, lead partner for CAP, explains the need for abuse prevention. “There are very few agencies in this state that deal with child abuse prevention. Most are after-the-fact. This is actually an excellent program that deals with trying to prevent child abuse.” Most of the individuals seeking help are pregnant teenagers who are taught how to nurture their baby and understand how brain development of the infant is directly related to their care, says Ellen.
For Stacy Cary, another lead partner, working with CAP has been a learning experience which built on her previous work with children’s, families’ and parental rights. “I’ve been educated, but I’ve never known anything about child abuse. Once you get there, you think ‘This is so horrible, how can you work with this everyday?’” Stacy says getting educated about child abuse and prevention is just one more piece in her focus on children’s rights. Stacy says she’s really made the focus her own mission. “As far as CAP, it’s almost as if it’s [mine]. I feel more attached to it. I really feel like [I’m] helping.”
Although funding remains an issue that Ellen and Stacy work diligently to resolve, Margaret says that DSVP has allowed CAP to provide training and resources to many constituents who would not have otherwise had the help. “[DSVP’s] funding gave [CAP] the luxury of helping a pregnant 12-year-old get services. No one else would consider looking at her,” she says, because many organizations do not provide for mothers of her age. “We provide a case worker [for the young mothers] who works with them on prenatal care…for five years,” Margaret says proudly. “The outcomes are phenomenal—75% of our mothers are working or in school.”
The three women agree that the people of DSVP, as well as those who volunteer their time to the organization, make all the difference in the quality of care provided. “You just can’t beat the people,” says Stacy. “You can give all the money in the world, but having the brainstorms—the more ideas you have, the more informed you can be and the better you can be.”
“I’ve really enjoyed working with the people in the agency,” says Ellen. “I’m so happy there are people of this caliber. It takes special people—truly giving of their hearts to [others].”
However, both Stacy and Ellen are quick to point out that Margaret’s impact and influence has been positive and tremendous. “CAP was already in a fairly good position,” says Stacy of the organization when she became involved. “Ellen took me under her wing…it’s amazing what they’ve accomplished with a small staff.” Ellen agrees. “Margaret does a great job…the organization was already well-run,” she says. “She’s done a great job for so long. It’s nice for her to have outside people come in and have different ideas.”
Ellen and Stacy are clear about their focus, the mission at the heart of CAP, and the method of accomplishing their goal. The two women helped CAP start the campaign for funding contributions. “We were thinking, ‘How can we do this?’” says Stacy. “We’d just touched the tip of the iceberg.” They decided that a software program could help, and Stacy set out to research the idea. “We are the first organization with DSVP to use a software program to take fundraising to a new level,” says Stacy. “Also the Web site—everything is going to be easier for people to donate.”
“Ultimately, you want to feel like what you spend your time on is the mission,” says Ellen. “It’s very different work; it’s more about the system. DSVP’s value-add really is the ancillary-type work: managing the mission.”
And the mission is what attracts partners and volunteers, says Margaret. “DSVP partners are very struck by the magnitude of child abuse in Dallas County,” she says. “They are drawn to our mission and the people we have in place…because we are honest and passionate and committed.”
As for the message to DSVP partners and the community about CAP, the women say education is key. “A lot of people aren’t focused on the social problem issues,” says Ellen. “A lot of people give a lot of money to arts, their church, their university. We are working in education with children at risk. If you had to walk in their shoes, could you? Not many people could.”
Margaret agrees that people want to help, but may not know exactly how. “Sadly, there’s a lot of bad philanthropy today in the sense that people have no direction in terms of where to give, but DSVP offers structure, accountability, and education for the partners involved.”
“DSVP has a double-barreled mission,” says Ellen. “It’s not only a foundation that grants money, but [one that] trains future philanthropists to be more effective. It’s a really important [mission] and has a lot of impact.”
Stacy says the DSVP model is a simple concept, but one that is structured so differently from other philanthropic models. “The time, expertise, brainstorming—it is not something you throw money at. This is a community of people who want to go further and get involved.”
Clearly the women seek to make meaningful and effective changes within their community, and hope to communicate the message and mission along the way about CAP. Mostly, they want others to know a little bit can go a long way. “It’s been great,” says Ellen, of her time spent working with CAP. “I think [the experience] has helped me think about how to evaluate significance—fewer but more impactful gifts…doing something effective…research and learning for a much better purpose. [And] finding things that work.”
