It’s August. Just a few more lazy unstructured weeks of fun, vacation, sleeping in, and doing what you feel like doing before school and homework and the old grind kick in again. Just a little more time to be carefree and lighthearted and happy-go-lucky. So why would we want to bring up something as ugly and repugnant and messy as domestic violence now?

Because domestic violence doesn’t take a summer break.

And since domestic violence doesn’t take a summer break, neither do the groups that help the people—usually women and children—who are victimized by it. One of those organizations is the Women’s & Children’s Alliance (WCA), a nonprofit organization that exists to provide safety, healing, and freedom to the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. WCA does this in a number of ways. It provides 24-hour hotlines for rape and domestic abuse. It offers shelter, counseling, and support for victims of domestic violence and their families. It provides life skills, parenting, and recovery classes for victims participating in the residential program, and in May it began providing licensed childcare for residents so they can leave their children in safe hands as they look for jobs, attend classes, and work to move on with their lives. Additionally, WCA helps victims navigate the complex waters of the legal system as they try to extricate themselves and their children from dangerous situations.

As a nonprofit organization, WCA is dependent on monetary donations for its operations, but there are a number of other ways you can help. The Shop, WCA’s thrift store, is located at 720 West Washington Street in Boise. Your donations and/or purchases of gently-used clothing, toys, books, and household items help keep WCA in business. You can also donate specific items needed at the shelter and childcare center. For example, the women and their families who are moving out of the shelter and into their own homes are in need of kitchen supplies. You can donate new and gently-used dish sets, pots and pans, silverware, cooking utensils, toasters, coffee pots, furniture, and other items to support these families in setting up their new homes. The WCA website, wcaboise.org, provides up-to-date wishlists for the shelter, children, and facilities.

Right now, though, here are the overall top 10 items that WCA could really use your help with:

• Gift cards (to Walmart, Target, WinCo, etc.)
• Surge protectors
• Non-perishable food
• Twin-sized bedding
• Diapers (size 4 & 5)
• Bus passes (1-day adult)
• Genie II diaper bag refills
• Car seats (20–40 lbs)
• Bras and panties (all sizes)
• Robes (all sizes)

If you would like to donate any of the above items, please drop them off at the WCA lobby at 720 West Washington Street (Boise), Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm. If you are interested in doing a donation drive or have more questions about donations, please contact Tami at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 343-3688, ext. 41. 

Donna Bankhead is a contributing writer from Boise.