Love is expressed in countless forms, but it shows up most powerfully when a community comes together to shield its children. This Valentine’s season the Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County (CAC) invites neighbors and friends to celebrate at “Hearts for Hope: Love in Action for Aiken’s Children” an intimate dinner party steeped in compassion and a responsibility to protect Aiken’s most vulnerable population. More than a soiree, the evening will serve as a call to unite as a village to support those who have experienced neglect or abuse.
Hearts for Hope is scheduled to unfold on February 12, 2026, at the historic Rye Patch, providing a romantic setting for an evening with an altruistic purpose. Guests will enjoy a catered dinner, live music and dancing, all in support of Aiken’s most vulnerable population. Speakers will include Tom Knapp, President and CEO of South Carolina Network of Child Advocacy Centers (SCNCAC), accompanied by Candace Clark, General Counsel of SCNCAC. Tickets are $75 per guest and available for purchase online.
“With this event, Valentine’s becomes more than cards and flowers,” said CAC executive director Amber Allen. “It becomes a statement that Aiken stands together to protect children and strengthen families.”
As an experienced local nonprofit, CAC works tirelessly to advocate for children to find healing and hope. Their mission is to provide a safe, child-friendly environment where children and families affected by abuse can receive essential services that promote their wellbeing. The center brings key partners together: law enforcement, social services, prosecutors and medical and mental health professionals. This ensures a coordinated response so a child is never required to retell their story in multiple intimidating settings.
“When the community invests in us, it reduces how many times a child must retell painful experiences and increases how quickly that child can access support,” explained Allen. “For example, strong funding and partner engagement allow a child to have a single, recorded forensic interview.”
Those interviews are quickly paired with pivotal resources like trauma-focused therapy and coordinated case planning with law enforcement and the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS). By coordinating these services, CAC ensures families are supported through a unified process rather than being left to navigate a fragmented system on their own.
“Families often share that without our coordinated services, they would have felt lost in the system,” said Allen. “With CAC, they feel guided, believed and supported from the first phone call through the resolution of the case.”
Funds raised through Hearts for Hope will directly uphold core CAC programs like forensic interviews, advocacy, therapy services and education. These resources help cover costs that grants and restricted funding don’t fully meet, such as expanding therapy capacity, maintaining a child-friendly facility and supporting a multidisciplinary team across several counties.
“Protecting children and strengthening families is a shared responsibility,” said Allen. “When Aiken invests in CAC, we are saying that no child should have to walk through abuse alone and that healing and justice matter here.”
You can purchase tickets to Hearts for Hope: Love in Action for Aiken’s Children dinner party by visiting cacofaiken.org
“With this event, Valentine’s becomes more than cards and flowers. It becomes a statement that Aiken stands together to protect children and strengthen families."