By Sue Bergstrom for Valdez City News –
Advocates for Victims of Violence will hold their eighth annual Women of Distinction Awards Banquet on November 14th at the Valdez Civic Center. Each year since 2008 the group has honored a Woman of Distinction and Young Woman of Distinction to recognize exceptional area women as well as to raise funds for their programs. Candidates are nominated by their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Last year’s winners were Shana Anderson and Cassandra Black. Previous years’ winners have been teachers, nurses, public servants and committed volunteers.
The idea of combining a fundraiser with honoring and supporting remarkable members of a community in this form became popular in the early nineteen-eighties. The Vancouver, British Columbia YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) held their first in 1983. YWCAs across the U. S. and Canada now hold these events annually. The American Association of University Women began theirs in 1985. Many universities and university organizations also hold them annually. The National Association of Women Business Owners and The National Conference of College Women Student Leaders hold woman of distinction events as well. Some of these organizations list no sponsors for their events and others show several. AVV has just one corporate sponsor listed on this year’s nomination forms and flyers.
Each nominee should demonstrate leadership, be an outstanding role model, show initiative and have strong professional and philanthropic achievement. Nominees for Young Woman of Distinction must be between the ages of seventeen and twenty-seven. Women who meet these criteria are nominated by the public. Nominations are then reviewed by a panel consisting of at least two community members, two members of the AVV Board of Directors and one AVV staff. Nominees are honored at a banquet at which the winner in each category is announced. They receive a plaque and five hundred dollars. The number of nominees and the number of people attending the event have grown steadily over the years
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AVV was originally part of the Women’s Resource Group, which was formed in 1979. It split off to operate independently, received non-profit status and held its first meeting in January, 1981. Things moved quickly and by the end of the year, AVV was receiving funds from the State of Alaska for advocate staff and a grant from the City of Valdez to renovate a building to be used as a combined office and shelter space. That building was in use until 1999, when the agency relocated to its present ADA compliant space, which includes a conference room and larger shelter and office spaces. AVV provides a crisis shelter, a twenty-four hour crisis line, crisis intervention and legal and case management advocacy. They provide training and support in a number of different areas to both victims and advocates for people affected by abuse and violence.
AVV’s Mission Statement
Advocates for Victims of Violence is committed to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by providing confidential services to victims and their families, offering educational programs, and effecting social, political, and legal change.
http://www.avvalaska.org/home.html
