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Sparta, North Carolina, USA, 18 February 2010 – After passing through miles of unstirred snowcapped farm land, Quinn and I spotted our destination of Sparta, North Carolina, just on the outskirts of the Appalachian Mountains. Sparta has a population of only 1,775 people and it is marked by a single streetlight in the center of town. The surrounding county is best known for its hard working farmers and picturesque mountain views. Yet, sadly, counties like this one have little to no funds to deal with social issues and poverty. This was the primary reason behind our decision to concentrate Growing Voices here.

The next step was to reach out to our contacts in the Social Services Department in Alleghany County (population 10,917), specifically to find out what sort of domestic violence programs were being run in the area. The Department staff referred us to Lee Cornett, the director of DANA, a domestic violence program under the umbrella of The Alleghany Partnership for Children. They had reached out to 4,260 people through prevention programs and serviced 480 domestic violence survivors last year in the county. This was an excellent place for us to start.

We set up a meeting on a cold Thursday afternoon with Lee and the rest of the women who work at the domestic violence facility. On entering the facility, we were immediately struck by the warm, supportive environment on hand to greet traumatized woman and their families. Although funding is scarce, the women volunteers who work at DANA do the best they can to provide the basic amenities. The facility features temporary living space complete with toys, books, sleeping and dining facilities, as well as all the resources necessary to assist a family in crisis.

For the next few hours Quinn and I listened to the women talk about the DANA program. They focused primarily on how to reach more people in their prevention programs, inspire more women to leave their violent environments, and the ongoing challenge of how to keep their facility's doors open. They expressed an interest in reaching out to other GV community projects where they could share ideas with others in similar situations, or donate excess materials to those others in need.

As soon as Quinn and I left, we knew this was where we wanted to create a partnership. Quinn and I, along with Lee and the DANA women, are committed to creating gifting opportunities in the form of local gas and grocery cards, as well as daycare services for families while they get back on their feet. Ultimately our goal is to help provide a permanent facility where the women of DANA can provide a safe environment without fear of closing their doors to the people most in need of our help.