VintageNOW brings in $98,500 for Safe House campaign

The ninth annual VintageNOW Fashion Show, held to shine a light on the darkness of domestic violence and benefit the Safe House for Women, brought in close to $100,000, exceeding its goal and serving as a testament to community support, officials said.

Show founder and director Deb Boyer Maevers, who owns Pastimes Antiques at 45 N. Main St. in downtown Cape Girardeau, said she�s beyond proud of the community support.

�We are blessed to have such support for our mission to help the Safe House,� Maevers said. �It�s hard to find words to express my gratitude ... for everyone who helped with the show.�

The show�s net proceeds totaled $98,500, and, said Safe House executive director Jessica Hill, that amount will go toward a capital campaign, Safe Tomorrows, to build a new shelter.

The capital campaign�s total goal is $2,054,000, the cost of construction for the shelter, Hill said.

�After VintageNOW, we have only $702,000 to go,� Hill said. �We�ve had a very successful campaign so far, and with the success of VintageNOW, we are definitely a lot closer to where we need to be.�

More information on the campaign is available at semosafehouse.org, Hill said.

�We�ll be ready to occupy our new shelter next summer,� Hill said.

At the VintageNOW show, held Oct. 20 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Jerra Hutson announced Art Van Furniture would donate the remaining furniture needed at the shelter, and Hill expressed gratitude for the gesture.

Hill said the goal every year for VintageNOW has gone up by $10,000, so for year nine, organizers were hoping for $90,000, �and we exceeded that goal by quite a bit.�

Given the show was held at the Show Me Center for the first time, the scope expanded, she said, and even after expenses, �to still beat our goal, it�s great.�

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Maevers had previously told the Southeast Missourian, �We want to have a fun event that people can come to, be entertained, but also help women who are in terrible situations. We like to say we�re shining a light on the darkness of domestic violence with this event, raising awareness, hopefully helping people understand that this is a real problem, even in our own community.�

In 2017, 65 domestic-violence-related homicides were reported in Missouri.

In Cape Girardeau County, 2,210 domestic-violence-related calls were reported to law enforcement in 2017, and the Safe House for Women reported 657 hotline calls that year. The Safe House sheltered 93 women and 37 children in 2017, detective Jaime Holloway with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff�s Department has said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630