Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling & Education Receives $15K in Grants

Written by Karen Mello, Director of Development & Communications

Wilton, CT — The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education (The Center) announced that The Community Fund of Darien and First County Bank Foundation has granted The Center $10,000 and $5,000 respectively to fuel its crisis counseling, advocacy, and prevention education programs. Over the last year alone, The Center served over 17,000 individuals in Lower Fairfield County.

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“In the 35 plus years of The Center's existence, progress has been made around the issue of sexual violence” said Ivonne Zucco, Executive Director of The Center. “However, there is still so much work to do, and the partnership of organizations like The Community Fund of Darien makes our continued efforts possible.”

The Center’s counseling, advocacy, and prevention education programs work together to create a safety net for Lower Fairfield County residents. The funding from these two organizations will help ensure that the following programs of The Center remain available:

• Free 24/7 Hotline Services, in both English and Spanish.
• Free individual crisis counseling and support groups for survivors and their families.
• Sexual violence prevention education to youth in kindergarten through college, and the community at large.
• The Center’s participation on two teams that provide integrated, cross-disciplinary response to allegations of child sexual abuse.

The statistics around sexual assault are alarming, and speak to the significant need for The Center’s crisis counseling, advocacy and prevention education services. Nearly one in five (19%) of Connecticut residents has experienced a sexual assault in their lifetime and 14% of Connecticut residents has experienced childhood sexual assault. Also, one in four girls and one in six boys will become a victim of sexual assault before the age of 18, over 90% of the time the perpetrator is someone the child knows and trusts.

Zucco also commented “The First County Bank Foundation has partnered with The Center for over a decade. We are honored by this long-standing relationship and are grateful for their support.”

Photo #1: The Center receiving The Community Fund of Darien award, from left to right Carrie Bernier, Executive Director of The Community Fund of Darien, Ivonne Zucco, Executive Director of The Center, Amy Wilkinson, Grants Director of The Community Fund of Darien.

Photo #2: The Center receiving the First County Bank Award, from left to right, Gerard Fleurizard, Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager of First County Bank, Ivonne Zucco, Executive Director of The Center, David Metzger, Senior Vice President, Senior Trust Officer of First County Bank.

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About The Center: Serving Lower Fairfield County since 1979, The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education provides free, 24-hour confidential help to women, men and children who have experienced sexual violence. Additionally, it provides age-appropriate prevention education for children, grades Kindergarten through 12th grade, college students as well as education programs for the community at large. The Center supports eight towns in Lower Fairfield County including: Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport, and Wilton. The Center provided crisis counseling to over 500 individuals and prevention education to over 17,000 children and adults in the last fiscal year. To learn more about The Center call 203-348-9346 or visit www.thecenter-ct.org.

About The Community Fund of Darien: For over 65 years, The Community Fund of Darien has helped those in need, working to make our town the best it can be. Our grants to local nonprofits are targeted toward the most critical needs in Darien, Stamford and Norwalk. We measure results and aim for impact, resulting in vibrant and productive communities.

About First County Bank: The First County Bank Foundation, which was established in 2001 to honor the bank’s 150th anniversary, contributes generously to non-profit organizations that support community and economic development; increase the availability of affordable housing and programs that support quality of life and educational enrichment for families and children. As a mutual community bank with no shareholders, First County Bank considers contributions made by the Foundation a means of paying dividends back to the local communities it serves.