Rotary Club of Carlisle Selects Local DV Shelter as Beneficiary of Holiday Fundraiser

Carlisle, PA – December 16, 2019:  The Rotary Club of Carlisle and Rotary Club of Carlisle Sunrise joined forces to help Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland & Perry Counties (DVSCP) raise money for the agency’s Shelter repair project.  Through its Annual Holiday Celebration and Auction held on Friday, December 6, at the Comfort Suites Hotel in Downtown Carlisle, the two Clubs surpassed their goal of $15,000, raising a total donation of $20,000!  Through sponsorships, attendance at the event, and a live and silent auction, this year’s event was a huge success.

This donation was enough to boost DVSCP to its ultimate goal of more than $100,000 for all needed renovations. Work includes repairing or replacing 45 shelter windows, as well as repairing and replacing portions of the exterior, which have begun to rot. The agency’s handicap accessible ramp will also be repaired and the basement flooring will be replaced during this project.

This recent donation wasn’t the Rotary Club of Carlisle’s first helping hand in this project.  DVSCP submitted a grant application to the Club in February 2019.  The Rotary awarded the agency $5,000 to complete renovations to the agency’s child care room, which, aside from the kitchen, is one of the busiest rooms in the Shelter!  This project was completed in September thanks to this generous donation.

“The Rotary Club put on a fun event for our agency.  We had several staff and board in attendance and were thrilled when we heard the outcome of the evening,” stated DVSCP Executive Director Barbara Kohutiak. “We presented the shelter renovation project to the Rotary in February and they not only awarded us a grant for a portion of the work, but then went to work themselves, raising an additional $20,000.  We still can’t believe it.”

Thanks to the hard work of many, the agency has reached its goal of $100,000. Cumberland Design and Building, the local contractor selected to complete the repairs, is set to begin in early 2020.

Pictured below from L-R is DVSCP Board President Jodi Bezanilla, Executive Director Barbara Kohutiak, Rotary Club of Carlisle-Sunrise Ben Prescott, and Rotary Club of Carlisle President Becky Morgenthal.