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Below are archived excerpts from written correspondence that the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has received in the past. OVC reserves the right to edit excerpts for length, style, and grammar. Excerpts Archive (Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis, Thanks for the scholarship you provided for me to attend the P.O.M.C. conference. This always renews me . . . [as we can see] new people coming in each year and . . . healing as time goes on. Again, thanks to all of you for all the great work you do. Elaine Colelasure
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: I just want to say thank you for the stance that you have taken regarding victims of crime. . . . In August 2000, Mr. Gillis, my daughter was gang raped by five to seven men. Only four were convicted. They were all released in 2004. This has been a life-changing experience for my daughter. Every day, she is struggling to regain normalcy [in] her life. I must admit that I was numb for quite some time. However, . . . I decided to use this defeated energy to triumph and help others who have been victims of sexual crimes. You have empowered and inspired me to go on and change lives and in this I would like to say thank you. Read the full letter. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Mr. John Gillis and OVC: Just want to write a note to give you thanks for the scholarship that makes it possible for people like [me] to be able to attend the National Parents of Murdered Children [P.O.M.C.] Conference every year. . . . You could never imagine how much this means to parents like [me]. . . . Keep doing the great job you do! Yours truly,
(Letter) Dear Christina [a grants specialist with the Florida Office of the Attorney General] and Jeffrey [an OVC program manager], On behalf on my family and myself, I wanted to express our thanks for your assistance after the violent incident against my son here in Brevard County, Florida. The system and process in Brevard County pretty much failed due to a lack of communication, training, and understanding. But after contacting both of you, the communication, contact, followup, empathy, and assistance with this nightmare has been much improved and nothing short of excellent. Read the full letter. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear John: On behalf of the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) and the Dallas Police Department, we would like to extend warm appreciation for your support of the 2004 Crimes Against Children Conference, held August 23-26, 2004. The conference was a tremendous success. A record-breaking 2,310 participants benefited from the vital information shared in the conference's workshops. Attendees represented local, state, and federal law enforcement, child protective services, district attorneys' offices, social workers, medical personnel, children's advocacy centers, therapists, and other related fields. Your participation as a supporter was instrumental in making the 2004 Crimes Against Children Conference so successful. Read the full letter. Sincerely, Helen C. Holman Stephanie M. Bernal Sandra Johnson
(Card) Dear Mr. Gillis, I was able to attend the Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) conference through a scholarship and wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the opportunity. I came away with far more than I ever expected. Being a survivor for 15 years, I truly appreciate the compassion you offer to all of us. D.S.
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: Thank you for presenting at the 19th National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community, June 9-12, 2004, in Orlando, Florida. Feedback indicates that this year's conference was another resounding success. Much of this success can be directly attributed to the commitment and support we received from committed individuals like you. The partnership and teamwork allowed us to meet the challenges of developing and implementing a very productive program for a very diverse group of participants. Read the full letter. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: On behalf of the chairman of the board, the executive officers, and church volunteers, we kindly thank you for awarding us a $5,000 grant. . . . This grant will help us create a mass media campaign, recruit more volunteers, and leverage resources and dollars from other church congregations, businesses, and residents for the continuing support of our program. This program to help provide a safe and caring community is sorely needed in this area. Read the full letter. Sincerely,
(Card) Mr. John Gillis My husband and I would like to thank you for making it possible for us to attend and help out, we really appreciate all you do for the P.O.M.C. Conference! Thank you again! G.E. & B.E.
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis, Greetings! I am so excited that 'thank you' just doesn't seem adequate. However, I do know that it comes directly from the heart of a grateful and faithful woman. On behalf of T.R.U.S.T. (Tragedy Response Unit Support Team), I am appreciative for the $5,000 grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), U.S. Department of Justice, and to the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, Inc. (P.O.M.C.) for administering and monitoring the grant. Thank you. This week I will attend the 2 day "Navigating the Federal Funding Process Regional Training' on grant writing in Philadelphia, PA, and I am thrilled about the possibility of being able to obtain faith-based initiatives funds. I also look forward to working with you and P.O.M.C. May God continue to richly bless you, yours, and the work that you do. In spirit, love, and truth,
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis, On behalf of the members of the Miami-Dade Chapter of P.O.M.C., I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation for approving our application for the H.O.P.E. grant. These funds will greatly enhance our visibility in the community and enable us to assist more survivors of homicide victims. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: On behalf of the New England Regional United States Attorneys' Offices, we deeply appreciate and want to thank you for being a keynote speaker at the above-referenced conference (Crossing the Lines Conference, Jackson, New Hampshire). All indications from the attendees point to this conference being an enormous success, which the Committee attributes to the inspiring presenters. The information you provided was both education and insightful. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Sir (Mr. John Gillis), Thank you so much for allowing me to attend the P.O.M.C. conference in Peoria this year. I'm sure looking forward to the meeting, which will be the first one I will attend. My daughter Dolores "Toni" Martinez was murdered February 14, 1999. I just want to keep her memory alive. Perhaps the P.O.M.C. conference will help do that. I do appreciate the chance to be with others who have gone through the same sorrow. God bless you,
(E-mail) I just wanted to let you know that we received the check for reimbursement for $5,000 for our NCVRW activities. On behalf of the entire Capital District Coalition for Crime Victims' Rights, I would like to thank OVC for giving us the opportunity to improve and expand on our activities during the week. This year was a great success, but we couldn't have done it without the funding. Sara Martin, Director
(Letter) Our National Crime Victims' Rights Week was a wonderful success. We are grateful to OVC for awarding us the funds to create the Grove of Hope as a lasting memorial for all victims. Read the full letter. Sincerely, Pamela S. Wessel
(E-mail) Thank you to Mr. Gillis and OVC for providing us the opportunity to promote National Crime Victims' Rights Week here in Arizona and across the country. It made a tremendous difference in raising the collective consciousness of the country to Victims' Rights Week. Dan Levey
(E-mail) Our Crime Victims' Rights Week activities were a huge success! Thank you for OVC's support! Our statewide victims' tribute was very well attended and we had great press coverage this year. Diane Glenn
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: Thanks in large measure to you, our Fifth Annual Public Safety & Community Appreciation Breakfast was a huge success. You are truly an inspired speaker. I believe we have accomplished what we hoped to do: provide an opportunity for law enforcement and the community to come together, share a meal and take time to reflect that, as diverse as we are, we are all part of one community and together we are making our community better. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: The Survivors for Violence Prevention, Inc., would like to extend our heartiest thanks for your participation in the sixth annual Survivors conference. Your presentation provided conference attendees with important insights and information. . . . The range of questions and the passion of the attendees were evident during the question-and-answer period following your enlightening speech. Read the full letter. Sincerely,
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis, It was with great pleasure that I discovered I'd been accepted and approved to attend the P.O.M.C. National conference in Peoria, Illinois, August 5-8, 2004. I think it's wonderful that you care about us and I assure you your investment in myself is a good one. Thanks again. Sincerely,
(Letter) I want to thank you very much for providing financial support to the Office of the District Attorney in Sonoma County to help promote National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The District Attorney's Victims Assistance Center sponsored a luncheon on April 19 and a vigil for victims of crime on April 21. Without the support of the Department of Justice, we would not be able to put on this important event. Read the full letter. Sincerely, Stephan R. Passalacqua
(Letter) Dear Mr. Gillis: We here at MADD Long Island wish to thank you for awarding us the H.O.P.E. Grant in the amount of $5,000. It has enabled us to reach out to the victims and victim families who have been devastated by the crime of drunk driving. This chapter has been able to help victims in many ways. Some of the services provided include one-on-one counseling, court accompaniment, and call-to-action letter mailings. For these victims, just being available for them has been a great comfort. Sincerely,
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