DU Helps Survivors of Domestic Violence

Just in time for Mother’s Day, the DU community has stepped up to help survivors of domestic abuse. During the month of April, more than a dozen collection bins were set up across campus to collect items for Mother’s Day baskets. Some of the items collected include: makeup, sunglasses, bath accessories, perfume and jewelry.

Last week, volunteers from the DU Staff Advisory Council (SAC) and Women’s Staff Alliance for Networking and Development (WAND) collected the donations to make the Mother’s Day baskets. The goal was to create 80 baskets, but there were enough donations to make 127 baskets.

Kari Shafenberg, assistant director of registration and records with the Sturm College of Law, was the driving force behind this effort. It’s the 11th year she has worked to help survivors of domestic abuse.

“It is an opportunity to support women and families in transition who are facing financial, physical, mental and legal struggles as they try to provide safety and security for their families,” Shafenberg says. “These baskets are a great comfort and help these women to remember that they are important and beautiful and that they will achieve better for themselves and those they love.”

The baskets have been donated to SafeHouse Denver, the only shelter in Denver that exclusively works with survivors of domestic violence, and TESSA in Colorado Springs, which provides bilingual residential and counseling services to women and families who need assistance.