By Angie Ramirez

Registered organizations and sororities on campus found meaningful ways to advocate and participate throughout Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Among them, the Craft for a Cause student organization partnered up with Peace at Home Family Shelter, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing shelter services, for a donation drive aimed at helping families escape abusive situations and start fresh in a safe environment. 

Through Nov. 28, CFAC is collecting a variety of items such as towels, cleaning supplies, sheets and baby bottles to support families transitioning to new homes after leaving violent situations. 

CFAC’s vice president, Anna Bolding, hopes they gather enough donations to make an impact on the family shelter.

With the gathered home-warming items and house goods, CFAC will send them to the family shelter where they will make house-warming baskets, so that once the survivors transition to a new place, they will have everything they need to feel at home. 

“The ultimate goal of the drive is just to gather enough items so that we can provide warmth and help survivors feel like they have a home whenever they are transitioning into a new place,” Bolding said. “That transition can be scary, it can be obviously very stressful and we want to ease that burden as much as possible.”

Donation drop-off locations are found in the Human Environmental Sciences building, the Arkansas Union and the Walton Arts Center, making it easy for students to contribute. 

In conjunction with the donation drive, CFAC and the family shelter are also partnering for their initiative Survivor Celebration Cards. Students and volunteers create handmade cards to honor survivors who have achieved big milestones. The cards will be added to the house-warming baskets and will be given to individuals and families, offering encouragement and recognition.

“Each card includes a positive, uplifting message in English or Spanish, and it’s been incredible seeing our community come together to handcraft over 400 cards and counting,” Ella McKay, CFAC’s president, said. “The creativity and heart that people put into every design truly captures what CFAC is all about, spreading kindness, encouragement, and hope through something as simple as art.”

Students who participate in the donation drive or create cards earn volunteer hours that they can log in GivePulse, an online service platform. Donating three items counts as one service hour, and making two cards equals one hour of service. 

“I would say there’s about three ways and three things on why students should get involved, which would be giving back to the community, learning how to be creative, and gathering those hours and showing that you know you are making an impact in your community,” Bolding said. 

Beyond the drive, many members crochet and knit beanies, socks and other handmade items to donate. New members are encouraged to learn these skills, making CFAC both a creative outlet and a community of giving.

“In a world that relies so heavily on machines and enterprises, traditional crafts like knitting and sewing are becoming lost arts,” McKay said. “CFAC helps keep those skills alive by teaching and sharing them with our generation while using them to serve others.”

Each month, the organization hosts gatherings to bring students together and learn about their ongoing service projects. McKay said they are hoping to feature a special guest speaker from another local violence shelter for their next meeting on Nov. 19 and include a hands-on crafting activity related to supporting survivors in the community. 

“It’s a relaxed and welcoming space, whether you’re new to crafting, looking to get service hours, or just wanting to meet kind, creative people who care about making a difference,” McKay said. 

The CFAC student organization started last year with the mission to bring students together in a creative and supportive environment and make items to comfort the people experiencing hardship in the community. 

“Students should get involved with CFAC because it’s more than just a club, it’s a community built on creativity, compassion, and connection,” McKay said. “It’s a space where you can unwind, learn something new, and create from the heart. Whether you’re looking for service hours or simply a place to belong, CFAC offers both.”