DS
Devi Stoffregen
  • human development and family studies
  • Class of 2014
  • Coon Valley, WI

Devi Stoffregen part of Hope for the Holidays event

2013 Dec 16

Devi Stoffregen of Coon Valley, Wis., helped organize for the Hope for the Holidays benefit held Dec. 7 in collaboration with the Waterfront Bar and Grill and Bridge to Hope in Menomonie.

Stoffregen is majoring in human development and family studies.

The ninth annual event included a half-price meal, a free beverage and a door prize with proceeds going to the Bridge to Hope, a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and agency in Menomonie serving Dunn and Pepin counties.

The benefit was organized by students in the Abuse in the Family class taught by Associate Professor Susan Wolfgram. “The Bridge to Hope provides vital services to our community. It supports victims and their families at a time when they are most vulnerable,” Wolfgram said.

Providing support for facilities such as Bridge to Hope is vital, Wolfgram said, because in most states the shelters’ public and private funding, resources and staffing have declined despite an increase in demand for services.

“Stable funding is now more essential than ever to ensure that programs across the country can keep the lights on, answer crisis calls and provide essential services for victims fleeing violence,” Wolfgram said.

Hope for the Holidays included increasing awareness about domestic violence, a Bingo game, a 50-50 raffle, a silent auction and live music by the Evergreen Grass Band.

This fall, with October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, more than 30 of Wolfgram’s students presented education programs at schools in Menomonie, New Richmond and River Falls along with the Dunn County Jail and the Eau Claire Transitions Center for Ex-offender Re-entry. The presentations stressed that domestic violence can be prevented and that everyone needs to break the silence and talk about the issue.

The outreach efforts coincide with No More, a national awareness campaign supported by leading domestic violence and sexual assault organizations from around the country.

For more information on the human development and family studies program, go to www.uwstout.edu/programs/bshdfs.