With the season of romance still lingering in the air and warm spring weather just around the corner, the Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Center of Dickinson believe now is the perfect opportunity to invite members of the community to two of their favorite things — Wine and Cheesecake.
The Wine & Cheesecake Shindig fundraiser hosted by the DVRC is scheduled for Sat. March 7 at the Roosevelt Grand Dakota Hotel in Dickinson and will feature entertainment by ‘Fun Pianos! by 176 Keys’ and a live and silent auction with all proceeds going to benefit the work of the Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center -- a United Way funded organization.
“The event has grown rather quickly and it’s very popular, which makes us very excited,” Kayla Messall, site manager of Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Center, said. “There will be wine and cheesecake, but there will also be horderves and plenty of snacks during the event.”
Messall said she couldn’t remember how the idea came to fruition, but could confirm that everyone at the center were fans of wine and cheesecake.
“We just put together our two favorite things, wine and cheesecake,” Messall said laughing. “Thanks to our sponsors we were able to secure the dueling piano group. That’s when we knew the event was an event.”
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Tickets include a chance to win a grand prize travel voucher valued at over $1,500 and can be purchased for $60 by calling 701-225-4506, or by visiting the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce.
“The beauty of having a community fundraiser when you are grant funded is that there are no strings attached. Most grants come with requirements on how to use the money and when we have a fundraiser we can use the money on things as they come up throughout the year. Relocation fees, helping pay for prescriptions because violence victims glasses sometimes get broken, things like that where there are no services for victims of violence in our community we can use the money towards.”
The Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center (DVRCC) has been in existence for over 30 years. In those years DVRCC has helped many women and children change the circumstances that they were faced with.
“One of the things that people think is that there was no violence here before, which is very incorrect. It has been here the whole time and has nothing to do with the oil boom,” Messall said. “It’s an everyday thing. I don’t think there has been a single day that has gone by that we haven’t received a phone call. We are very busy.”
Women often arrive at the shelter without having an idea where they were going to live and with no idea of the services available for them. DVRCC staff continues to help individuals and families make life changing decisions while providing direct services to women and children who are victims of violence.
“Ultimately, all the money that comes through goes to serve victims of violence, both men and women, as well as to help with homeless women and children,” Messall said of the fundraiser.
Funds raised by events like the Wine & Cheesecake Shindig go to aid the DVRCC assists shelter residents with many of their basic needs such as groceries, laundry supplies, cleaning supplies, transportation and child care in the transitional period from their abusive situation to self sufficiency — as well as to keep staff for each resident to work with them to obtain housing, employment, counseling and other services as needed.
“We are excited for people to come and show their support, and I can’t stress this enough...we’ve never been disappointed in the support of the people in the community and surrounding communities who have always been more than supportive,” Messall said. “It’s amazing, truly amazing. We put out a note as simple as we need winter coats on our facebook page and within minutes we have people commenting saying, ‘I have this or that’ and ‘where can I drop off this or that.’ I have to say we never go without because of the huge support of the community.”
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Sponsors of the event include Ladbury Funeral Service, Red Rock Ford of Dickinson, Denny’s Electric, TrialRunners, Eyewear Concepts, Graybar, Kirkwood Bank and Trust, Wyoming Casing Service, Inc., Dacotah Bank, Dickinson Ready Mix & Concrete Products, Dakota Supply Group, Winn Construction and Marathon Petroleum Dickinson Refinery.
