Many of you may know Susan Butters as the owner of Bullhide 4×4 Auto Accessories here in Fort Collins, but did you know that she’s on the board of directors for Voices Carry Child Advocacy Center as well? Voices Carry Child Advocacy Center is a safe place for children and family to attend when there are concerns about child abuse or emotional abuse. They work with children and families to help eliminate abuse through prevention, education and advocacy.
We R Foco had the opportunity to sit down with Susan and ask her a handful of questions about her involvement and commitment to the Fort Collins community.
Q: What is your position with Voices Carry?
Susan: I serve on the board of directors and I am also the Fund Development Chairperson for the board.
Q: How long have you been a part of Voices Carry?
Susan: This is my 12th year. I have volunteered with them for more than 10 years and just recently joined the board of directors two years ago.
Q: Why did you pick Voices Carry?
Susan: Our daughter, Megan, came home in elementary school telling us about her fears and hesitations about spending the night at a friend’s house for her birthday party. Megan wasn’t comfortable with that friend’s Dad and wanted to tell us about it, so she didn’t have to be there. She had learned this from the Safety Smarts program that was being taught in her classroom by the Child Advocacy Center at Bacon Elementary (Then called Talk about Touch). She was taught to listen to her heart and to tell someone if you ever feel uncomfortable. I reached out to the CAC to get more information, and it ended up being a high school friend of mine who taught the class and was employed by the CAC. I understood then that we needed more help in educating our community in the need for kids to speak out and speak up about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable since the odds of a child being a victim was one in four at the time! We also needed our school community and parents to understand how to respond correctly to our children and how to help decrease the numbers of children impacted by sexual and physical abuse in northern Colorado.
Q: What’s your favorite part about being involved with Voices Carry?
Susan: I have seen the number and odds of children impacted and touched by physical and sexual abuse go from one in four 11 years ago to one in 10 today in our own community! The combination of the prevention program from the CAC that is in Poudre School District elementary schools, the education for parents, teachers and coaches and the work that our forensic team and advocates are doing with victims and their families is making a HUGE difference in northern Colorado. Our efforts are working, and it is wonderful to be a part of it.
Q: What events and fundraisers does Voices Carry hold?
Susan: Our annual fundraisers include the Bocce Tournament held in the summer at the Child Advocacy Center, Aim to Help Clay Shooting Tournament on Sept. 27, 2019 at Great Guns in Nunn, CO., and our 1st Annual Holiday Homes Tour is coming up on Nov. 16-17, 2018 in the Harmony Club neighborhood of Timnath. For tickets and event information, visit: http://www.voicescarrycac.org/events/holiday-home-tour/
Q: What other nonprofits are you involved with?
Susan: Mostly Serve 6.8 with my time, but our business helps to support many others, such as Finally Home, Homeless Gear, The Boys and Girls Club, Foothills Gateway, 3Hopeful Hearts, and The Center for Family Outreach.
Q: In what ways can people get involved?
Susan: You can get involved with Voices Carry by volunteering for an event and helping out at the Child Advocacy Center. Cleaning and sorting toys, planting flowers in spring, and donating snacks and blankets are always a huge help. If you are looking to make a monetary donation, you can donate here: http://www.voicescarrycac.org/get-involved/donate/