The Montgomery County Club has lent its support to
programs serving domestic violence victims for a number of years. In addition to making direct donations to
shelter residents, for example, the Club staged its signature Free Market event at the Betty Ann Krahnke Center for abused
women and children on two occasions. Opened
in 2000, the Krahnke Center is the
only shelter for victims of domestic violence in Montgomery County, Maryland,
and, according to its website, typically serves more than 200 abused women and
350 children under age 18 in any given year.
(Link to Krahnke Center here http://www.familyservicesagency.org/bak.html)
Currently the Montgomery County Club
reaches domestic violence victims through its relationship with the Shepherd’s Cove Shelter for women and
children. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately 63%
of homeless women have experienced domestic violence in their adult lives. In addition, 50% of the cities surveyed by
the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause
of homelessness.
Shepherd’s Cove is one of the four charitable organizations that our
Club “adopted” two years ago. We support our adopted organizations not only with
direct donations but also through various types of hands-on projects and
activities. 
For example, over the past 2 years, for Shepherd’s Cove, we have direct-donated
food supplies, toiletries and books, and we are currently working to arrange a
re-staging of the combination breakfast and Free
Market that we held at the facility last summer. At that event we served a hot American-style
breakfast (including pancakes!) to over 60 women and children, after which women
and teens shopped at the Free Market for clothing, shoes and household goods
while the younger children engaged in arts and crafts and reading-related
activities in our “Kiddie Corner.”
Shepherd’s Cove has been managed since 2004 by United
Communities Against Poverty, Inc. (UCAP), a 501(c)(3) charitable
organization that was founded in 1964 and that was designated in 1978 as the
official Community Action Agency (CAA) for Prince George’s County, Maryland. Shepherd’s
Cove is a 100-bed facility that operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a
day. In addition to
emergency/transitional housing, it provides various other kinds of support for
residents, including daycare and after-school care for children, as well as employment,
education, and health and mental care services.
(Link to UCAP here http://www.ucappgc.org/AboutUs.aspx)
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