Dubuque’s Evening of Light Shines with Its Support for Survivors

It was a night predicated on compassion, camaraderie, and support for sexual assault survivors at Dubuque's 2023 Evening of Light. The annual event, held at Grand River Center, serves as Riverview Center's biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year saw hundreds turn out for an evening highlighted by a dinner, a silent auction, and an impactful keynote speaker.

Riverview Center works with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. They know better than anyone that there's no template you can hamfist on one person's experiences. Recovery looks and feels different for each individual. Sexual assault advocacy, in itself, has many dimensions.

Two-time Olympian Aly Raisman spoke at this year's Evening of Light, highlighting her remarkable career in gymnastics, but also talking openly and honestly about her experience with sexual assault. A published author too, Raisman spoke for over an hour about the broader systems and institutions in place that allowed the abuse to take place.

Furthermore, she touched on aspects in the world where society falls short in showing compassion for victims of sexual assault, reminding all of us that although progress has been made, we still have a lot of ground to cover.

The Evening of Light is invaluable when it comes to generating awareness, but it also raises necessary funds for Riverview Center. Riverview Center also has 24/7 crisis hotlines that can assist those who need immediate help. They're an organization that is able to do what they do thanks to generous grants and donations. You can find more information about their services on their website and on their Facebook page.

Helping raise those necessary funds was a silent auction with dozens of unique items, most of which donated by local businesses and organizations. I was eyeing an autographed Chicago Bears photo and football, which boasted signatures from the likes of Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney just to name a few players. The winning bid wound up being $400.

Evening of Light attendees got to enjoy a cocktail hour, a lovely dinner, and a moving discussion with Aly Raisman that, while occasionally difficult, was necessary. Ever since I moved to Dubuque, I've latched onto Riverview Center as an organization I'm proud to support. It's one of merely a few nonprofits in the area that specializes in mental health counseling, and the one-on-one work their selfless volunteers do with victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence is necessary, to say the least.

Riverview Center is located at 1789 Elm Street in Dubuque.