The Avalon Center, which provides services for those experiencing domestic and sexual violence on the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula, has two public events lined up this spring.
The center’s annual Community Day, including the Avalon Classic Golf Tournament, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, at the Williamsburg National Golf Course. This will be followed by a meet-and-greet from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, June 24 at the Gloucester outreach center at Hayes.
Community Day at the Williamsburg National includes a range of activities for the public to enjoy free of charge, said Leslie Jingluski, community outreach coordinator for Avalon. A variety of vendors selling art, crafts, jewelry, kitchen supplies, skin care products, pet supplies, and other items will be on-site all day, along with food trucks, a giant bounce house, cornhole, and live music by Sammy Lee and John Smith, with DJ Kudiz and Lou C. Vangieri. There will even be a pop-up yoga class in the morning.
The main focus of the day will be the Avalon Classic, a golf tournament that includes a round of golf, cart, T-shirt, swag bag, time on the driving range, and dinner, all for $125 per person or $500 per foursome. Registration will be held from 11:30 a.m. to noon, with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The tournament will conclude at 6 p.m., followed by dinner. Non-golfers are welcome at the dinner for $25.
Tournament sponsorships are still available, said Jingluski.
To sign up for the tournament or a sponsorship, visit https://avaloncenter.org/avalonclassic.
For more information, email maryhard@avaloncenter.org.
Meet and Greet
The June meet-and-greet will be held at Avalon’s outreach center on Hickory Fork Road, Gloucester. It will provide visitors the opportunity to participate in the In Her Shoes® program, which is based on the experiences of real survivors and educates communities about domestic violence.
Those attending will also receive a tour of the building and be given the opportunity to volunteer with Avalon.
To participate, email lesliej@avaloncenter.org.
About Avalon
Serving Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex since 2017, Avalon’s local outreach center was relocated from Mathews to Gloucester in August 2021, said Jingluski, but it has been open only by appointment because of the pandemic.
Jingluski said the center is working on staffing, but that it has been active in local high schools, with Candace Fox, youth services coordinator, visiting the schools regularly to talk to students about healthy relationships and teen dating violence. The center also participates in the Family Life program, she said. The Avalon Center’s 24-hour shelter helpline is 757-258-5051, or call toll free, 833-537-0970.
