The Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS) needs a new shelter. There’s just no getting around it. Last year we had to turn away more than 40 women and their children because there simply was no room for them at our aging 12-bed Leesburg facility. That meant we had to say “sorry” to one out of every three women who had come to us looking for somewhere to sleep and feel safe.

Of course, LAWS is still able to help such individuals in many other ways: our prevention programs and legal services provide support to approximately 1500 victims of domestic abuse every year. That’s why we understand how critical it can be to provide safe haven to those in imminent danger, or who have been made homeless by domestic violence.

You may not know it but our little shelter has the distinction of being the only dedicated domestic violence housing for survivors of sexual assault or other abuse in all of Loudoun County. That’s right.  LAWS is it! The only option that a victim of domestic abuse has to keep away from their abusers -- night by night -- as they seek alternative solutions for getting on with their lives.  At our shelter an abused woman can regain her footing, focus on building new skills, begin the all important  recovery process that gives her the confidence and knowledge to start over.  Children who stay at the LAWS shelter also feel more secure, go to school free of worry about their moms, and are no longer subjected to violent scenes that can negatively impact their own behaviors for generations to come.

We’re asking your help this year towards purchasing or building a larger shelter. Our goal is to more than double our capacity to 30 beds. We may not get there this year, but with your help we hope to raise funds that give Loudoun a better shelter by 2012. This Gala is a bigger event than ever before, but the need is also bigger. You have only to read the sad facts on domestic violence in Loudoun County and nationally to know this.

How can you help?  By enjoying this year’s Gala as a major sponsor of the event, as a purchaser of a table for your company or simply by attending.

If you would like to donate an item for the auction, please email Paula Grace. Thank you very much!

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf (invited)

Gregg Karukas
Jazz pianist extraordinaire

LAWS ~ Raise the Roof will be held at the spectacular Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia

Make it an event to remember by staying at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort. Lansdowne Resort is graciously offering a discount to our Gala guests and will make a donation to LAWS on behalf of each guest that enjoys their luxurious accommodations.

Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News

Sharyl Attkisson was named CBS News' investigative correspondent in August 2007, primarily focusing on government spending and taxpayer issues for the “Follow the Money” franchise of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Ms. Attkisson received an Investigative Emmy Award in 2009 for “Outstanding Investigative Reporting of a Business News Story” for her exclusive investigations into TARP and the bank bailout. She received an Investigative Emmy Award in 2002 for “Outstanding Investigative Journalism” for her series of exclusive reports about mismanagement at the Red Cross. She was also part of the CBS News team that received RTNDA-Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2005 and 2008 for Overall Excellence.

Ms. Attkisson has been a Washington-based correspondent for CBS News since January 1995.

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