Upcoming Brunch Fundraiser Brings Awareness to Domestic Violence

The seventh annual Domestic Violence Brunch Fundraiser will be hosted by the Better Brother and Sister Growth Network on March 16 at the Party Palace. Photo Credit: Better Brother and Sister Growth Network
The seventh annual Domestic Violence Brunch Fundraiser will be hosted by the Better Brother and Sister Growth Network on March 16 at the Party Palace. Photo Credit: Better Brother and Sister Growth Network

Upcoming Brunch Fundraiser Brings Awareness to Domestic Violence

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

The Better Brother and Sister Growth Network will host it’s seventh annual Domestic Violence Brunch Fundraiser at the Party Palace, 555 E. 75th St., from 9 a.m to 12 p.m. on March 16.

The fundraiser will support the network of resources that the organization maintains for victims of domestic violence in Chicago.

The Better Brother and Sister Growth Network is a nonprofit organization that got it starts on the streets of Englewood and has since moved to a stationary office in Roseland.

The mission of the organization is to be a supportive resource for the people, to help build community relationships, to provide useful information and mentoring, to improve health awareness, to support the homeless community, and to provide resources for people experiencing domestic violence.

“We address domestic violence and with that, we are a resource center for families. For instance, if someone calls us and there is a crisis or they need assistance, we have resources that we can connect them with at that particular time. We can get them shelter or a place to go,” said Lukesha Tate, founder of the Better Brother and Sister Growth Network.

The organization got its start in 2009 when Tate began to see domestic violence victims in her everyday life at work and in her apartment building.

“What happened was that women were being abused in the hallway of my apartment so I just took on the responsibility of trying to help them,” said Tate. “I was seeing mothers and families that were getting abused so with that I decided to start this organization in Englewood.”

Even Tate her self is the survivor of an abusive relationship which makes the upcoming Domestic Violence Brunch Fundraiser that much more important to her.

“I fell into a relationship where I was the victim. I wasn’t being physically abused but I was getting mentally and emotionally abused and I was still going out and mentoring and speaking to women about being abused and then coming home and being abused,” said Tate.

The upcoming event is open to people of all ages and will feature Darryl Cooke as the guest speaker and Crystal Banks as the Mistress of

Ceremony. Both will share their experience with domestic violence.

“This is the first year out of seven years that we actually have a man coming to tell his story,” said Tate. “We always have the women

telling their stories and this is the first year that I have a man actually speaking out about being abused.”

To connect with The Better Brother and Sister Growth Network, you can visit their office at 10824 S Halsted, Suite 104, Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or call 773-253- 2424. If you are experiencing an after hours emergency, call 773-701-6950 Tickets for the event cost $20 for adults, $8 for children, and are available at www. eventbrite.com or via PayPal at paypal.me/TBSGNetwork.

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