Exchange Club recognizes Child Abuse Prevention with $40K check

Amber Abercrombie, president of the Exchange Club, presented the check alongside some of the other club members to Pamela Miles, executive director of the ECCAP, during a ceremony held at the Exchange Center on Tuesday.

This money comes directly from fundraisers put on by the Exchange Club specifically for the ECCAP.

“We are a small club; we only have 15 active members,” Abercrombie said. “Even as small as we are, we raise anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 every year, which is huge.”

This money will go directly to the prevention programs at the ECCAP, according to Miles.

“Prevention programs are the most underfunded,” Miles said. “There are so many prevention programs we off that are essential. When you hear the stories of people struggling with and surviving abuse, it makes you want to have every type of program on the frontlines for them.”

The prevention programs focus on helping families who are likely to fall victim to abuse and range from parent support programs, hospital based and community based programs.

Miles said during the pandemic their referrals were up 48%, showing the need the community has for the ECCAP. The center had 1,500 new referrals, 615 in counseling, 320 assessment referrals, 102 in group therapies, 410 professional trainings and reached 19,000 people with community education.

“Nonprofits are so central to the community,” Miles said. “They can provide high quality services at very low costs, and that are incredibly impactful.”

Currently the Exchange Club, Wiregrass United Way, and the Children’s Trust Fund are the only three entities that support the prevention programs at the ECCAP.