The Great Escape, a fundraiser for the Women’s Shelter of Central Arkansas, will offer treats for kids this year, in addition to discounted spa services and shopping, the event chairwoman said.
The annual fundraiser is scheduled for 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. Saturday at the Conway Expo Center, 2505 E. Oak St. Tickets to The Great Escape are $10 at the door or $5 in advance on eventbrite.com until the day of the event.
“Last year, we noticed a ton of kids running around, and they really didn’t have a lot to do,” said Erin Henderson, a shelter board member and chairwoman of The Great Escape. “One of the biggest things we’ve tried to incorporate this year is bringing in activities for kids.”
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, as well as the month Halloween is observed, so Henderson said children are encouraged to wear costumes. Children ages 12 and younger who wear costumes will get in free, she said. Also, anyone who shows a ticket to Saturday’s University of Central Arkansas homecoming game or a student ID will get one free admission ticket with the purchase of a ticket. And anyone who brings a bib number from participating in the morning’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock will get in free.
Henderson said children can trick-or-treat at the vendor booths. Other activities will be face-painting and possibly “hair chalk and crazy-color spray to tie in with the spa theme.”
Each spa service is $10.
“There will be a group of ladies painting nails — it’s not full-service manicures — providing haircuts, hairstyles. We have somebody doing makeup, chair massages with some of the massage therapists,” she said.
The pampering is not just for women — men and children can take advantage of the special spa services, too, Henderson said.
Free health screenings will be offered by Conway Regional and Baptist Health medical centers. Screenings will include diabetes, body-mass index and cholesterol. Chiropractors will be represented, and one will screen for fibromyalgia, she said.
Henderson said vendors will offer a variety of items for sale, including children’s books, clothing and jewelry. The Broken China Jewelry project, a year-round fundraiser for the women’s shelter, will have a booth. Women’s-shelter volunteers create and sell pendants from pieces of broken dishes.
“It’s our primary fundraiser now, aside from the Broken China project,” Henderson said of The Great Escape.
Box lunches will be sold for $5, and those include a hamburger, chips, a side dish and a drink.
A silent auction has a lot of desirable items, Henderson said, including original paintings, two round-trip tickets to anywhere Southwest Airlines flies, four Arkansas Symphony Orchestra tickets, a one-month membership to the Conway Regional Health and Fitness Center and more.
The event will culminate with a style show at 4 p.m.
When the fundraiser was created, the name had a double meaning, organizers said. Women who attend “escape” by being pampered, but the goal of the shelter is serious — to help women escape their abusers and get on their feet.
“All proceeds go to the women’s shelter for therapy service, relocation services, transporting to counseling appointments … the overall health and well-being of people who just left domestic violence, as well as the day-to-day operations of the shelter,” Jackson said.
One in three women and one in seven men are victims of domestic violence in the United States, according to the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Breanne McClendon, who started in January as executive director of the Women’s Shelter of Central Arkansas, said this will be her first time attending The Great Escape.
“I’m excited,” McClendon said. “I think it will be a great time for the communities to come out and have a relaxing day and do a little shopping.”
However, she said, the focus is to bring attention to domestic violence and what the shelter provides.
“We can’t bring people into the shelter to see it and get a feel for what we do, so doing events like this is really important for our awareness,” McClendon said. “It’s really important not only to get exposure for the community; it’s important for our overall operating budget.
“For whatever reason, overall with nonprofits, giving has declined a little bit. This is just another way for us to be able to raise money … not tied to a specific program, and we can use it as we see fit. Grant funding is tied to specific things, or we have to do specific things [to get funded], so this gives us a little bit more freedom to try new programs or meet specific needs of our residents.”
The shelter can accommodate 20 to 23 women and their children, McClendon said. On a recent day, 18 women were staying in the shelter.
More information is available by calling (501) 329-7405, or go to conwaywomensshelter.com. The crisis-hotline number is (866) 358-2265.
“It’s going to be a busy day,” Jackson said. “The Race for the Cure is that morning, and the UCA homecoming game is that night. We’ve got the trifecta. Go to the Race for the Cure, come get some get spa services, and do a little bit of shopping; then go to the homecoming game. It’s a packed day, but you can do this in the middle.”
And bring the whole family, she said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-5671 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.