2024 Annual Summer Fundraiser Event: An Evening With Katie Koestner
(Video credit: A Safe Place Bilingual Advocate, Stan Hope)
A Safe Place held its annual summer fundraiser on July 11, 2024 at Great Harbor Yacht Club. This year’s event, An Evening With Katie Koestner, brought education via connection to a sold out room while raising awareness and funding for A Safe Place’s free and confidential services within the Nantucket community.
This year’s keynote speaker, Katie Koestner, was on the cover of Time Magazine at age eighteen as the first woman in history to speak out nationally and publicly as the victim of “date” rape.
Katie has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, CNN, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Later Today, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight and other national television programs. She is the subject of an HBO movie and has lectured at over 5000 schools and universities around the world.
Additionally, Katie is the founder of the Take Back The Night Foundation, an international organization working to end sexual violence, support survivors, and raise awareness.
A Safe Place, in collaboration with Source Hub, delivered educational supply baskets to establishments around the island during the month of July. Outreach was focused on staff at local hotels in order to bring awareness about the free and confidential services available to those who are being affected, or have been affected, by domestic violence and or sexual assault.
The baskets were filled with information on A Safe Place services as well as packed with hairbrushes, water bottles, air fresheners, feminine products, and misc. items. They were placed within staff break rooms and common areas. Multi-language service posters were distributed as well.
Thank you to White Elephant Resorts, The Nantucket Hotel, The Nantucket Inn, Faraway Hotels, Carlisle House Inn, Jared Coffin House, The Wauwinet, Great Harbor Yacht Club, Nantucket Memorial Airport, and Charlene’s Cleaning Services for allowing us to bring awareness via their locations and businesses.
A Safe Place staff hosted Pop Up Friday information tables last month at The Corner Table, Cisco Brewers, and Nantucket Land Bank’s Discovery Playground at Hinsdale Park. Thank you to all locations for your support!
The Nantucket Atheneum, in collaboration with A Safe Place, recently hosted a screening (followed by an in-person Q&A session with writer/director Jennifer Fox), of The Tale. A Safe Place was on site with an information table and rape crisis counselors for survivors and survivor families who were triggered by the content.
The Tale, starring Laura Dern, is about a woman filming a documentary on childhood rape victims who starts to question the nature of her childhood relationship with her riding instructor and running coach.
Congratulations to A Safe Place Trauma & Child Witness to Violence Therapist, Julie Kingston, on her five year employment anniversary!
Thank you for your passion and dedication to the community of Nantucket. We are grateful for you!
On August 8th and 9th, Eldred’s in East Dennis will be auctioning the historical contents of the family home of A Safe Place volunteer, Betsey Whalley.
Betsey is a 10th generation Nantucketer and has selected four non-profit organizations (A Safe Place being one of them), that will receive the proceeds from the upcoming auction dates.
Betsey has volunteered with A Safe Place for approximately ten years in the capacity of an Advocate/Rape Crisis Counselor (RCC) supporting survivors via our 24-hour hotline and in Nantucket District Court when on island.
Thank you, Betsey, for your incredible generosity and continued support of our mission!
Trained Rape Crisis Counselors (RCCs) are available 24-hours a day via A Safe Place to provide support and resources no matter when an assault occurred. Our RCCs offer in-person support and advocacy at Nantucket Cottage Hospital for survivors undergoing medical exams in the aftermath of sexual assault, provide on-going support and counseling (individual or group sessions) to survivors and their family/friends, and are available for continued support for survivors who enter civil or criminal court proceedings.
