Each person in our class is responsible for profiling one nonprofit in Porter County in order to help our class evaluate who the recipient of our grant money should be. I had the opportunity to work with Dunebrook and get to learn more about their organization. While I chose them at random without knowing what they do, I later found out that my sorority has worked with them in the past which helped me connect to the agency. Dunebrook’s central work is around eliminating child abuse in the area, and they work to accomplish this mission by educating parents, connecting families with resources, and helping victims of child abuse go through the criminal justice program. When I met with Pam, the development director for Dunebrook, she explained to me that all of the programs Dunebrook offers are backed by thorough research and are proven to help families. We talked about how parenting can be tough and frustrating, even when the family is well off or has sufficient resources. When those things are missing, the task of raising healthy, safe, and happy children is even more difficult. By teaching parents how to cope when things are difficult and what they need to provide for their children, Dunebrook is helping to reduce the number of child abuse and neglect instances. However, they also work to raise awareness for the issue by reminding people of mandatory reporter laws and reinforcing the idea that abuse isn’t just the “family’s business” or something other people shouldn’t get involved in to help stop. Dunebrook has a clear passion and mission for helping families, and learning about their agency was a great experience for me.
You can learn more about Dunebrook at: http://dunebrook.org
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