Last Wednesday, I had the honor and privilege of attending a charity event at GEICO. I was there to represent the Red Tent Initiative. Employees from GEICO had been working hard to research and promote local charities that they felt deserved to win a $15,000 grant. Eight organizations were chosen for this event called “GEICO Cares.” I listened to all the presentations and learned so much about these fantastic local organizations doing amazing work in the community! Each organization won a monetary award, but Red Tent was chosen for the big 15K award! What a moment this was for me! 

I began volunteering for Red Tent my first year in seminary (2019-2020) when I had to do an “internship” with a local organization for my Community Studies class. I chose Red Tent for two reasons: 1. I needed to be with a community of other survivors of domestic abuse. It is an essential element of being on the path to thriving, not just surviving. 2. For my family. For too long, domestic abuse has been silenced. People struggle to recognize it and don’t know what to do when they experience it. It’s too late for me to do anything about what was happening to my family members in my home as an adolescent, but I can certainly help others now. 

The board members of Red Tent are thrilled to have received this award. We look forward to expanding our work in the Polk County community. Here is the statement from the RTI Board: We have been informed that we were chosen to receive a donation of $15k from GEICO!! We are purely donation driven and all board members are volunteers. The pandemic hit us hard and it has been a struggle to recover. This donation, and all others from our upcoming fundraisers allow us to continue to serve our community, providing material goods, relocation assistance, transportation assistance, and other services to victims and survivors, regardless of gender, race, religious preference, and sexual identity. We are unbelievably honored and grateful to have received this award and are so excited for what’s to come! Thank you to GEICO and the amazing team of employees who chose Red Tent for consideration of this amazing award!

And of course, thank you to UUCL and of its members that support Red Tent!