Options
COLBY—A $160,000 gift from the Jim and LaNette Kellar Family will bring help, hope, and healing to countless victims in Northwest Kansas.
Options Domestic & Sexual Violence Services, Inc. will use the generous gift – the largest ever for the organization – to expand its life-saving services.
The Kellar Family donated a commercial building in Colby to the organization. Additional community members were also involved in making the generous donation happen. The Kellars recognize Ken Eland for donating all the title work and closing costs, as well as real estate agent Molly Oliver and Stock Realty for their hard work in making the donation possible.
Since 1983, Options has provided free and confidential life-saving services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. It recently expanded to serve victims of human trafficking.
The non-profit victim advocacy organization serves 18 counties in Northwest Kansas, with a service area of more than 17,000 square miles.
The organization currently operates out of its main office in Hays, its safe shelter in Ellis County, and a satellite office in Colby, which is a rented house only able to accommodate limited services.
The Kellar Family’s investment will support the expansion of services for victims and their families in Northwest Kansas. In the coming months, the organization plans to further enhance services with an additional safe shelter after a capital campaign and remodel of the newly donated building in Colby.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Kellar Family for their incredibly generous donation,” said Jennifer Hecker, Options executive director. “This donation is the largest in our organization’s history, and the effects will have a lasting impact on the community and victims in surrounding counties.”
Geographic isolation is a real barrier for victims of abuse in Western Kansas, making it difficult to access services. It is not uncommon for victims who are farther away from walk-in services and shelter to experience greater delays in accessing services than victims who live in closer proximity.
“We recently worked with a victim who desperately needed safe shelter but felt forced to turn it down because of the sheer distance to get to our only shelter in Ellis county,” Hecker said. “She would have had to quit her job, pull her children out of school and leave behind the little support system she had left.
“She needed her job so she could provide for her family – she was in a no-win situation. Sadly, she is not the only one, and victims of abuse should never have to choose between their physical safety and their financial safety,” Hecker said. “We are grateful for this level of support from the Jim and LaNette Kellar Family, Mr. Eland, Ms. Oliver and Stock Realty, who recognize the important role these services have in our communities.”
If you or someone you know needs help because of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, call Options free Helpline at 1-800-794-4624 for help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.