Paycheck Donations KNOW Child Abuse

Gulf Coast Kid’s House is a children’s advocacy center serving Escambia County, Florida. They combine the professionals with the resources needed for intervention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases under one child-friendly facility.

“We want to thank all the PenAir employees for donating to the Jeans for Communerosity® campaign,” says Stacey Kostevicki, LtCol, Executive Director of Gulf Coast Kid’s House. “All of the funds will go to support our new mental health position. This position will help families in immediate crisis until they’re able to get into the trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy we offer here.”

By extending in-house support services to include mental health counseling, Gulf Coast Kid’s House is able to form a more collaborative response to child abuse cases so that they can improve case outcomes and minimize trauma to the children and families served.

“This is the second year in a row that PenAir employees have nominated Gulf Coast Kid’s House as a Jeans for Communerosity® charity,” says Beatrix Getzug, Communerosity Committee Liaison and Frontline Operations Coordinator for PenAir. “We find it important to support the mission of Gulf Coast Kid’s House because it not only educates our community and also helps our children.”

PenAir’s J4C program is an employee-driven fundraising effort, born from the dedication and passion for enhancing the lives of those in the communities where we live, work and serve. Each year, employees nominate and vote for like-minded local nonprofit organizations to champion over the course of a year. Selected charities receive a gift of $4,000, along with a commitment from the credit union’s 332 employees to serve the organization through volunteer opportunities supporting their missions. Funds are raised through payroll deductions, J4C days, and J4C t-shirt sales, then matched by PenAir.

Beyond the check, the J4C program was created as a way for the company to collectively serve our communities, which includes the gift of time. In that spirit, each PenAir employee receives 5 hours of paid time per month to volunteer during working hours with the organization of their choice.

PenAir is also happy to report, in 2021, 60% of all employees took the pledge to KNOW Child Abuse. By volunteering to take this important training, PenAir employees are now equipped with the tools to recognize, report and reduce suspected child abuse and trafficking situations. Reporting Abuse is mandatory in the state of Florida to report abuse if you see it happening or suspect that it’s occurring.

Abuse may be reported by calling the Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. Learn how you can support Gulf Coast Kid’s House at gulfcoastkidshouse.org.

To view the 2021 Gulf Coast Kid’s House Annual Report, click here.