The plight of domestic abuse victims got some much-needed attention last Thursday when La Grange-based BEDS Plus held a benefit to raise funds for victims at Milk Money Brewing, 75 S. La Grange Road.
The 4th Annual “Road to Independence” kicked off in pleasant early evening weather, and drew a packed house to the eatery.
Milk Money co-hosted the event and it was presented by its founder, La Grange resident Mike McNamara, for whom the cause is personal. His sister spent 19 years with an abusive husband, trying to raise two young children. During those 19 years, on three different occasions, she had to flee her home on foot because she was without a car or any other transportation.
The Harley Davidson motorcycle — donated by Harley Davidson of Countryside — was available for photos with guests at Milk Money Brewing during the BEDS Plus benefit. (Hank Beckman)
So when McNamara originally planned the event, the transportation theme seemed natural and the Harley Davidson available for visitors to take pictures on it drove home the point.
“That was a really sad, awful situation,” McNamara said. “I was still living at home with my mom and dad and she would come home and her face would be all beat up, and it was just an awful situation.”
Over time, McNamara came to feel called to do more than just donate money to help the cause.
“For years I just donated to the organization because it was the right thing to do and my sister’s experience,” McNamara said, noting that he also donated to the Constance Morris House, a domestic violence shelter affiliated with Pillars Community Health, another La Grange-based organization providing shelter for domestic abuse victims.
“When my sister was fleeing, she went back twice because she had no way of living on her own without him,” he said. “A strategic thing that these abusers do is to strip away all of your ability to live independently of them … the one singular thing that helped get her back on her feet was that someone donated transportation so that she could get a job.”
McNamara talked about the growth of the event over the last four years.
“The first year, I had a little party and packed about 50 people in here and raised about $3,000 or $4,000,” he said, noting that the second year raised about $10,000, and last year saw $30,000 in money raised.
Live entertainment was provided by Blue Lexi unplugged. Mike Hines of Whiskey Jezebel provided acoustic music, and returning this year as sponsors—in keeping with the motorcycle theme — were the Ladies of Harley and the Illinois Route 66 Hog Chapter.
Tickets were $25 in advance, and $30 at the door, with 10 % of sales of Milk Money’s “Road to Independence Ale” and 10 % of sales from the event going toward the cause.
Other sponsors were Phillip Wagner of American Family Insurance, @properties/Christie’s International Real Estate, and Harley Davidson of Countryside.
“It’s (the turnout) fantastic and a lot of that has to do with Mike and his general charismatic personality,” Erin Molek, BEDS Plus development manager said about McNamara. “It’s personal to him. It started four years ago as sort of a small, outdoor get-together … last year we raised $30,000, and we’d loved to hit that again.”
Molek stressed that the money raised at the event would go to a specific program at BEDS Plus, to help people who found themselves homeless because of domestic violence.
Molek echoed McNamara’s comments on the transportation theme of the event.
“Why we have a transportation theme is that one of the largest costs we see on our end is transportation,” she said. “It could be something as simple as getting to a job interview, or a bus pass, or Lyft costs. A lot of times they’re so isolated when they are domestic violence survivors, and what happens is that these individuals will not only isolate them financially from their and friends but from their vehicles … we’re celebrating the strength of our survivors.”
Tina Rounds, executive director of BEDS Plus, talked about the focus of the program, stressing that the people benefiting from the event were women who had landed in a domestic violence center, and eventually qualified for two years of rental assistance from a federally-funded program.
“This fundraiser supports the community part of it,” she said. “Whenever you get federal money, you have a matching obligation. This shows the community support. If they (the feds) are only going to pay 70 % of the cost, this helps us fill in the rest.”
For further information on BEDS Plus, visit its website at beds-plus.org
For further information on Milk Money Brewing, visit milkmoneybrewing.com
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
