photos c/o Kristina Bowman
The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center’s (DCAC) 9th annual Appetite for Advocacy luncheon was held on April 26, 2016 at the Sheraton Hotel Dallas. Event emcee, Katy Blakey, NBC 5 anchor and reporter introduced TED talk phenomenon and keynote speaker Brené Brown who immediately captivated the audience with her humor and extraordinary relatability. Brené’s message on vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame reminded guests that each of them can shoulder their share of the burden of child abuse, big or small, so that one person doesn't have to bear it all. Event co-chairs Paula Richmond and Megan Steinbach welcomed the nearly 1,600 guests and painted a picture of the typical client served by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center - a 9-year-old girl who has been sexually abused by someone she knows and trusts. “While her peers have been memorizing state capitals and discovering what vinegar does to baking soda, she has endured abuse more heinous than many of us would allow our minds to imagine.” Their story ended on a hopeful note, describing how the average DCAC client moves through therapy and “no longer lives as a victim of the abuse she’s suffered…instead she is a survivor, empowered to walk in freedom.” The event raised more than $325,000 for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center’s mission to improve the lives of abused children and to provide national leadership on child abuse issues.
