Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow...

Letter & Art from a Student to Virginia

We're losing a member of our family today.  Virginia Vargas will be leaving us to return to her hometown of Houston, TX.  Virginia (or VA, as I like to call her) has been a ray of sunshine for us all here at DCAC.  I asked her to share with us some of her thoughts about DCAC and the work she did here in our "Safe From the Start" Prevention Program. 

"From the moment I walked into Denver Children’s Advocacy Center for my first interview, my heart jumped with excitement. Prior to that day, I had researched DCAC, its staff and affiliation with other agencies. I felt really passionate about their work, mission and vision. I knew that being a part of their team would be an honor and privilege. However, little did I know that my experience would be as profound as it has been.




Virginia and DCAC Board Chair, Mark Hellerstein and "Winston the Worm" working with a group of school children.



I’ve had the honor to work with experienced, passionate people who give their all for the hope of providing healing and change in their community. The prevention specialist position has refined my skills and confidence in what I offer to a team. Along with several DCAC trainings, it also strengthened my passion for children and desire to advance my career in counseling.

As I leave this wonderful team, I take with me friendships and memories I’ll cherish forever. Thank you DCAC for the letting me be part of your team and allowing me to contribute to the prevention of child abuse.

Virginia L. Vargas

Bilingual Prevention Specialist

We will miss you, VA....Godspeed.

Now I’m a “Belieber”….

Becca Jude & Mr. Bieber

I consider myself to be a fairly savvy social media guy. I know how quickly word can get out via these outlets. Just yesterday, there was a rumor circulating the internet that Bill Cosby had died.

As of Monday afternoon, "Bill Cosby died" was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter, and "is Bill Cosby dead" was the No. 2 "hot topic" on Google Trends, which tracks terms entered into the search engine.

Well, I’m happy to report that Mr. Cosby is, in fact, alive and well. Ironically, he countered the rumors using the exact same technology that spread them in the first place…he “tweeted” to all of his followers and fans that he’s alive and kicking.

I’m re-reading Malcolm Gladwell’s, The Tipping Point right now. The book was first published in 2000, prior to the meteoric rise in popularity of FaceBook & Twitter. Reading it now, I cannot help but think that there is no better example of how the entire concept of a “tipping point” works than with FaceBook and Twitter. This became ABUNDANTLY clear to me when I happened to run across the following story about how a college co-ed set out to raise awareness about childhood sexual abuse and wound up making a “Belieber” out of me.

Becca Jude is from New Jersey. She’s an 18 year old college Freshman at Miami University. Being addicted to Twitter (like 90% of the kids her age), she decided to turn that addiction into something positive. She decided to use it to raise money and awareness to combat child abuse. She had no idea how big of an impact she was going to have.

At the time, her goal was to raise $250 for Love Our Children USA (a child abuse awareness non-profit). Her plan was to donate 10 cents for every follower that she gained up to 2,500. That seemed like an awfully lofty goal. The average Twitter user has about 126 followers. Getting just 250 followers would be a huge accomplishment….2,500 is practically unheard of for an individual who isn’t a celebrity of some sort.

Well, here’s where the “tipping point” comes in. She started by tweeting statistics and facts about child abuse, which she would link to LOC’s website. A few days after she started tweeting, Justin Bieber’s mother, Pattie, retweeted Becca’s tweet to help spread the word. Thirty minutes later, Becca had already gained over 250 new followers. The next day, Justin Beiber’s road manager and a member of his crew, Ryan Good, retweeted Becca’s tweets. She was over 300! Then, Justin’s personal bodyguard joined the cause. After less than three months, Becca had reached her goal of 2,500 followers and had raised $250 for LOC. She was ecstatic….but little did she know, the best was yet to come.

The very next day, Justin Bieber himself started following Becca. I just checked Becca’s Twitter followers (#st0pchildabuse). As of today (January 25, 2011), she has 10,111 followers. Among them are Monique Coleman, Marlon Wayans, Ellen DeGeneres, Boyz II Men…and now, me. :-)

I’ve been corresponding with Becca via e-mail. She’s awfully modest about her Tweet-popularity:

“It is crazy to me that people now see me as inspiring. I never set out to be or anything like that. I just wanted to make a difference.I checked out your (DCAC’s) website. I think it is amazing and it seems like you guys do so much to help victims and to try and spread awareness. I would definitely love to help out in any way that I can :)  I am one person, an 18 year old, and I now have close to 10,000 followers on Twitter. People tell me that they had no idea how bad of a problem child abuse is until they followed me on Twitter. It's amazing to me what an impact Twitter and other forms of communication can have.”

Thank you, Becca….and thank you, Justin….and all 10,110 others out there following Becca. Hopefully, one day, we WILL reach the “tipping point” and start “trending” the conversation about child abuse and its tragic impact and consequences.

 



 

"The Darkness Followed Me Like a Fog"

Dear Friends of DCAC....

A DCAC Board Member referred me to this article this morning.  As I read it, I was blown away and my heart was broken.  It tells the tale of the suicide of an incredibly gifted and renown computer programmer, Bill Zeller.  He was 27.  

In a 4000 word essay, he shared his torment of abuse that had haunted him for 23+ years and how that torment ultimately led to his self-destruction. 

All I could think about as I read the article was this:  The services offered by DCAC are critical....no, IMPERATIVE, to the healing process of children who are suffering.  I would like to say "thank you" to our therapists, victim advocates, prevention specialists and forensic interviewers for their tireless dedication.  

It's easy sometimes to let our "daily grind" wear us down.  But if Bill had only had the support that he needed so desperately when he was a child, his life may not have been such a horrible existence that forced him to take that ultimate step to end it. 
 
I encourage you to read this.  It was very difficult for me to get through, but I'm glad I did.  It provided a real moment of clarity for me personally; an affirmation of the important work accomplished here.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE and the letter Bill left detailing his ordeal.  Word of warning, it is graphic, raw and disturbing at times.

Bill Zeller

Again, thank you.  You are all remarkable individuals and the hope you bring to these innocent victims is priceless.  

If you are reading this article and are struggling with your own abuse issues, please reach out.  Please seek help.  While we treat children who are 0-17, we have access to other resources.  Please don't hesitate to contact me HERE and I will get you in touch with someone who can help.

You may also call the Denver Metro Crisis Hotline at 888-885-1222.


Sincerely,
Scott Finlay
Director of Communications and Development