Two local agencies stand to benefit from one of this month's largest social events in Aiken County, with Sunday's Dinner with Friends en Blanc.
Getting a boost from the festivities will be the Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County, which has its headquarters at 4231 Trolley Line Road; and the Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County, based at 244 Greenville St.
"We have been around since 1997," said Mallory Holley, the clinic's executive director, noting that her organization is not associated with the Rural Health Services facilities of Aiken County.
The clinic's mission statement indicates it is focused on "improving the quality of life of impoverished, uninsured residents and the working poor of Aiken County by providing ongoing health care in a professional setting."
Holley said, "We have about 60 different volunteers, and that covers administratives, doctors and pharmacists ... and we are always in need of additional volunteers." A clinic brochure notes that every dollar donated equals $16.02 in medical services, and that 574 patients were served last year, via 2,150 volunteer hours.
The Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County, with Gayle Lofgren as its executive director, aims "to provide services to abused children that are investigation-, prevention- and treatment-oriented," she said.
Her agency dates back to 2005. "Basically, what we do is provide a child-friendly environment for children, which they will be able to come to when they've been reported to be abused," she said.
In the past, children in such situations were often interviewed in such settings as emergency rooms and the backs of police cars, Lofgren added. "Our office provides a very child-friendly environment. We get our referrals from law enforcement and the Department of Social Services, and these are agencies that people make a report to when they have a reason to believe a child is being abused."