Story and photo by Joe Vinduska

Barton Community College dropped off a donation of stuffed animals at the Family Crisis Center in Great Bend on Wednesday. The toys were collected by the Barton Library from faculty, staff and students at Barton.

Executive Director of the Family Crisis Center Kylee Graves said the donations are very useful.

“For each child that our Child Advocacy Center serves, we provide them with a care bag that includes a stuffed animal, blanket and other things to help bring them comfort and care during their crisis.” We also can utilize the animals at our Domestic and Sexual Violence Shelters for children and families.” We are truly grateful for this generous donation!”

This is the second year the Barton Library has collected donations and Barton Director of Library and College Archives Darren Ivey said he plans to continue this tradition annually.

“The children being helped by the Crisis Center are experiencing some of the worst moments of their lives,” he said. “Having a stuffed animal to cling to and protect might give them a little extra strength to get through the trauma. First responders have been doing something similar for years, and generous people at the College wanted to do their part. The library was happy to act as the conduit.”

The vision statement for the Family Crisis Center is for communities to be empowered by awareness, resources, and accurate information so we recognize victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse in all its forms to provide advocacy, support, reduce trauma and become the victim-centered world we all deserve to live in.

For more information about the Family Crisis Center and the services it offers, contact Graves at executivedirector@familycrisiscntr.org or (620) 793-9941 or visit familycrisiskansas.com/