Sundance Vacations: Leading Sponsor for LCCAC’s Enchantment Ball

Sundance Vacations was again the leading sponsor for the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center’s (LCCAC) 2016 Enchantment Ball this past Saturday to support children suffering from abuse in the county.

The event took place at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and was the LCCAC’s second gala sponsored by Sundance Vacations.

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The gala featured storybook scenery as life-size art to illustrate what LCCAC does to help children. Designed by Jeff D’ Angelo’s Design Group.

The gala’s theme was an enchanted ball and featured hand-painted scenery by Jeff D’ Angelo’s Design Group to commemorate the children they support.

Sundance Vacations was the big “Diamond” sponsor for the ball and sent seven employees to enjoy a night of festivities. The night featured a cocktail reception with a full dinner as well as dancing and a silent auction to celebrate the success stories of many survivors of abuse in Luzerne County.

LCCAC also invited foster children from Brandon’s Forever Home (BFH) between the ages of 18 and 21 who have also worked alongside of the advocacy center to share their recovery stories.

Shannon Peduto, the Executive Director of Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center, was honored to have BFH’s foster children there to illustrate how the two organizations help abuse victims in the county.

“These are the success stories of children who have actually turned their life around,” Peduto told Sundance Vacations.  “We had them at our gala to show people that the [foster] system does work, that these kids are doing so well and to praise them for what they’ve done to overcome their situations.”

In fact, two Sundance Vacations employees were so touched to have met one young man from Brandon’s Forever Home that they hope to be there for him long after the gala.

The husband and wife duo, who are both Sundance Vacations employees, Leslee and Leigh Arrington exchanged numbers with 16-year old Nisir from BFH and invited him over for dinner the very next day.

Although BFH offers formal mentorship programs, the Arrington’s tell us they simply want to be there for Nisir as a second family or even as friends.

“I want him to feel like he has somewhere he can feel safe at,” Lehigh Arrington said.  “A place where he can just come and relax. If he wanted someone to talk to that fine, but we didn’t want to make him feel like he had to. This is a safe place for him to be comfortable.”

The two spread their kindness across Luzerne County through community outreach at their church and more. They tell us that they just want to be available for Nisir when he wants some time away from the home.

“This is the time where compassion is needed now more than ever,” Leslee Arrington said.  “Especially amongst families and communities. When Lehigh and I see people who genuinely just need people, if we can be available in that moment, we try to be.”
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The Arrington’s may have just met Nisir, but they can already tell it is just the beginning of a long lasting friendship.

It’s that same kind-hearted spirit that brought 180 guests to this year’s gala, compared to the 114 who came last year. Peduto tells us that they estimate this will allow them to help about 60 more children and families than they did in 2015 and that they are grateful for all the support from the community.

Funds raised by the LCCAC’s gala will go directly towards providing services to victims of abuse in Luzerne County. Since the center does not charge for their services, events like this are crucial to the organizations existence.

Visit their website for more information on how you can help or if someone you know may benefit from contacting the center: http://www.luzernecountycac.org/

View all charities Sundance Vacations Wilkes-Barre worked with here: Wilkes-Barre News, and make sure to keep up with all Events Sundance Vacations support!

As always, be sure to follow Sundance Vacations to learn more about charitable efforts around our offices:

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More about Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center:

Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center offers a number of services to aid children who suffer from abuse in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The center offers exams for children to sit down one-on-one with a forensic interviewer who allows the kids to take the lead; instead of asking questions about the abuse, the children can speak openly about their experiences.

From there, the Child Advocacy Center may offer victims referrals for therapeutic services, collect evidence to prosecute abusers and works with all the community agencies including law enforcement, the DAs office and Luzerne County Children & Youth to protect the youth.

“Everyone’s trained differently,” Peduto said.  “Children & Youth is trained to keep the kids protected. Law enforcement is trained to help the prosecution to arrest those at fault; we (LCCAC) actually have specially-trained people to talk to children. In the end, we all come together to make sure that the child and the family is taken care of.”

Visit their page on our Charities site to learn more about how you can help: Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center.