Over the past 20+ years, The SAAFE Center has trained over 200 volunteer victim advocates and numerous interns. The SAAFE Center believes in the empowerment of victims to become survivors. To accomplish this, the staff is on-call during the business day and volunteer advocates are on-call by their cell phones after business hours and all day/night on weekends and holidays to respond to emergencies. Advocates speak with clients by phone or meet in a safe, neutral location (hospital, police station, BGSU, high school, etc.) to assist through crisis situations.
Advocate Training
Click here to read the cover sheet before completing the application.
Click here for an application.
There are two components of the advocate training session: classes and core groups. Included within the sessions are lectures, tours of facilities, group discussions, role-play activities, readings, and evaluations. The training session lasts approximately 10 weeks. The first 8 weeks are classes and core groups and then the following 2 weeks are to complete several evaluations. This ensures that our advocates are well prepared to work with clients. All told, the training encompasses approximately 40 hours.Read More
Interns
If you have completed the advocate training, then you can sign on for an internship with The SAAFE center. (We do not take any interns who have not already completed the semester-long advocate training, so plan accordingly).
Interns perform the same tasks as staff: being on-call during the day, attending court hearings, co-facilitating support groups, etc. In addition, interns pick a specific project they would like to work on during their semester of internship, such as the Clothesline Project, a Sexual Assault Awareness Month activity, writing a grant, among other great opportunities. We encourage interns to pick projects which match their skills and interests. Interns also work on other tasks as needed in order to receive a well-rounded experience in how a social service program is administered. Interns typically have office hours for 10 or more hours a week. Commit to The SAAFE Center for your intern experiences and you will build a great resume!
“When I decided to volunteer with The SAAFE Center, I knew that I would have the opportunity to help people and gain experience in the field, but I had no idea how much it would influence my life.” -SAAFE Center advocate for 4 years
Kroger Community Rewards
If you have a Kroger Plus card you can help the SAAFE Center any time you use it, with absolutely no cost to you through Kroger’s Community Rewards program. It takes about 5 – 10 minutes to sign up or re-enroll for the year, then every time you make a purchase at Kroger and use your Kroger Plus card you will be helping earn money for the SAAFE Center. The more people who sign up and use their cards, the more money Kroger will donate to the SAAFE Center.
To Sign Up:
1)Â Â Â Â Â Go to Kroger.com and either Sign In or Register for an account
2)     Click “My Account†at the top of the page
3)Â Â Â Â Â Scroll down to the Community Rewards section and click Enroll
4)Â Â Â Â Â If a page comes up asking for information fill out all the starred fields then scroll down and click Save
5)Â Â Â Â Â Search for us with our ID number, 81659
6)Â Â Â Â Â Select us and Click enroll
Cell Phone Collection
The SAAFE Center collects broken and/or unused cell phones. These cell phones are shipped to Shelter Alliance which then provides money back to participating program. If you can’t meet the volunteer advocate commitment, you can help support The SAAFE Center but organizing a cell phone drive! Contact Julie Broadwell (jbroadwe@bc.wcnet.org) for more details.
GoodSearch
Instead of using search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc., use GoodSearch and select The SAAFE Center as your cause. Then everytime you search, The SAAFE Center will receive a partial donation from GoodSearch!
Community Service
The SAAFE Center is dedicated to involving students who need 15-20 hours of volunteer experience for their classes but due to staffing limitations, these requirements cannot always be met. Some ideas to fulfill those requirements include hosting a cell phone drive, organizing a small fundraiser such as a bake sale, or hosting a Clothesline Project display. Other ideas are welcome. Please contact Julie Broadwell for more information regarding these opportunities at jbroadwe@bc.wcnet.org