Altrusa of Rogers has chosen Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter as the recipient of gifts from Altrusans attending the District 8 conference in April 2008. Gifts are tax-deductible.

The shelter, located in Bentonville, provides twenty-four hour emergency residential care to children who are victims of family violence, neglect and physical and sexual abuse. Serving 300 to 400 children annually, approximately 800 children a year must be turned away. It is the only shelter which accepts children from all 75 counties in Arkansas.

The shelter can accommodate up to 32 children at a time. The shelter accepts girls, birth through age 17, and boys, birth through age 12. Boys through age 14 who are a part of a sibling group and have no history of physical violence and are not sexually aggressive toward other children, may also be accepted. A child can stay in the shelter for a maximum of 45 days within a six-month period. During their stay at the shelter, the children are provided with food, clothing, medical attention, an education, special activities, and transportation.

The shelter receives only $400,000 a year from the state. The rest of the $2 million annual budget is received through donations, fund raisers, such as the yearly Starlight Ball, and efforts such as parking cars at Razorback football games.

The shelter strives to provide a home-like atmosphere and to that end, business and organizations “adopt” rooms, giving them a cheery decor children might find in a happier home. Shelter workers and volunteers go even further to provide a “normal” home for the kids in their charge: they take them out to movies, dinner and other special events.

You can help. We will be collecting gift cards at the district conference – cash donations made via check will also be gratefully accepted. The cards can be from major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target or from “fun” places like Malco Theaters, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Braum’s, Sonic and similar franchised entities in the Rogers/Bentonville area.

Learn more about the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter at www.nwacs.com.