Safe Homes and Friends raises $30,000

Newburgh — Safe Homes of Orange County’s annual fundraising and awards dinner, held recently, gathered 150 friends and supporters and raised $30,000 for the agency’s comprehensive support services and education for the elimination of domestic violence. The agency’s 2010 Hope Award recognized David Jolly, Commissioner of the Orange County Department of Social Services, for advancing comprehensive and coordinated services for individual and families affected by domestic violence. The Newburgh Teaching Assistants were acknowledged with the Mildred Warren Good-Neighbor Award for their year-round engagement in fundraising and support programs for Safe Homes’ women and children. The fourth annual Orange County Family Justice Center Award was bestowed on Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh for a research and evaluation project directed at the Orange County Family Justice Center. Lieutenant Dominick L. Blasko of Town of Crawford Police was honored with The John F. McKeon Recognition Award for his collaboration with Safe Homes in providing domestic violence training at the Orange County Police Academy in New Windsor. The event began with a keynote by Jo Ann Shipley of New Windsor whose daughter was murdered by her husband on Oct. 14, 2006. Kellyann Kostyal-Larrier, Safe Homes’ Executive Director, said, “While tonight is a time for celebration, we must remember why we are here and why the work we do is so important. One-in-four women are victims of domestic violence in their lifetime. On average, more than three women are murdered in the United States, everyday. Tonight, as we sit among friends, we must remember that somewhere, someone is home being terrorized by an intimate partner; children are hiding in fear; homes are not safe.” Held at The Fountains, The Wallkill Golf Club in Middletown, the annual fundraising event was sponsored by The Knight Family, Platinum Sponsor; returning Gold Sponsors Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. and Crystal Run Healthcare; and Newburgh Rotary Club, Silver Sponsor.