Team Spirit is raising funds for the benefit of Safe Harbor during these most difficult and trying times.

Safe Harbor needs our support now more than ever before due to the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the lives of those they are here to help.  Below is part of a message we received from Safe Harbor:

Because of the public health implications for COVID-19, most shelter organizations cannot provide adequate social distancing and quarantine capacity in existing community living facilities. Because of the transmission risk for our victims and staff, Safe Harbor has had to move our shelter services to a hotel, which is significantly more expensive than providing services in our existing shelters.

And as the world is turning online to stay connected, our domestic violence prevention and education staff is providing e-learning curriculum, social media support and virtual connectivity, maintaining our efforts to curb the next generation of domestic violence.

While 2020 will present the need for services more than ever before, it also has brought unprecedented financial challenges:

• One of our biggest federal grants, VOCA (Victims of Crime Act), was reduced by 18 %, representing about $200,000 of our yearly funding for counseling and advocacy for victims of domestic violence.

• Prior to COVID-19, we had planned to recoup some of the grant losses during our spring fund raising events, which are now either cancelled or rescheduled.

• The Safe Harbor resale shop, which supports our clients with necessary items on their road to freedom and supports our budget with sales to the public, has closed.

Because of the realities of COVID-19, Safe Harbor remains committed to providing 24/7 services for victims of domestic violence. Lives depend on it, especially now.

This year, Safe Harbor celebrates our 25th year. We’ve provided safety, hope and healing for thousands of our neighbors who came to us when they had nowhere else to turn. We were their community when they felt alone.

So now, we are turning to you for help. Right now, one of your neighbors is waiting for her husband to go to the bathroom so she can call Safe Harbor. She’s depending on us to be there for her. And we are depending on you to help us.

This pandemic has taught us many things. We have become more aware of freedoms we may have taken for granted—to go to work, school, eat in a restaurant, or live safely in our own home. Your donation to Safe Harbor will not only provide immediate safety today, but create a community where all homes are safe homes.

Please consider helping Team Spirit support Safe Harbor through this event by donating through one of Team Spirit's members.

Regards,

Ronnie Ashmore, Team Captain