Sarasota Philanthropists Challenge Community With $135,000 Match

September 29, 2020

Sarasota Philanthropists Challenge Community With $135,000 Match– Donors Unite for the Child Protection Center in the Face of Rising Child Abuse

Following a lead gift of $15,000 from Doug & Sherry Chapman, several local donors have come together in support of the Child Protection Center (CPC) by creating a $135,000 Match Challenge for the community.

“Children bear the consequences of two things: what we do, and what we fail to do,” said Diana and Brian Roberts, major contributors to the match. “It starts with you and it starts with us. We can break the cycle.”

The team of donors created this match challenge to combat the drastic effects COVID-19 has had on the nonprofit. As fundraising events and grants have been cancelled due to the pandemic, critical cases of child abuse have increased. All of CPC’s program services have seen higher demand in recent months, most notably a 13% increase in treatment for child sexual abuse in comparison to this time last year. The organization expects child abuse reports to increase further as children leave isolation and re-enter schools.

Doug Staley, Executive Director of the Child Protection Center, commented, “Child abuse does not stop because there is a pandemic, and we must not place it on a waiting list. Many children have been isolated in an unsafe environment for months. It is essential that we are able to protect these children.”

Reports can be made to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. For more information about the Child Protection Center, please visit CPCSarasota.org or call 941-365-1277.