The Center for Empowerment & Education’s (CEE) 15th annual Hearts of Hope Breakfast will be Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at The Candlewood Inn. CEE is excited to return to The Candlewood Inn for the second year in a row for their annual breakfast.
Hearts of Hope is CEE’s premier event to unite the community in the vision to end violence and raise much-needed funds to support critical programs and services that are needed now more than ever.
This year’s “Service Above Self” honorees are mother and daughter, Jacqueline and Eva Aveiga. Jacqueline is co-owner of J&J Construction Basement Systems and a Committee Member of the Ecuadorian Civic Center of Greater Danbury. Eva is the CEO and founder of Miss & Teen Danbury CT LLC. Jacqueline and Eva first became involved with CEE when they were volunteers for SafeWalk. They've since volunteered every year at all three CEE events. They have gone from not just volunteering but creating a large SafeWalk team and sponsoring the annual dinner. Eva has completed her certification training program for CEE and is officially certified as a counselor of domestic violence and sexual assault. Jacqueline and Eva have been part of the volunteer event committee for CEE for the past three years. They are dedicated supporters of CEE and are avid advocates of empowering all individuals.
The theme of this year’s event is “How Our Stories Impact Theirs.” “People with lived experience should not be considered as the walking wounded but instead should be looked at as someone with expertise because of their experience. Their expertise can affect lasting change. Because of the path that a victim has walked, new policies and laws are born. It takes these experiences for decision-makers to put a face to a story and understand the significance of their role in developing, passing, and implementing trauma-informed processes, policies and laws. We need to embed lived experience and the voices of survivors into every aspect of interpersonal violence programs and advocacy,” said Ashley Dunn, CEE President and CEO.
“We have work to do but CEE is here to continue to spark change, be the leader in our region to prevent and end violence, and empower victims to gain or regain control. CEE is committed to elevating the voices of those with lived experience to impact systemic change to help clear the path for those walking it in the future. CEE will continue to be an organization that lifts up and encourages survivors to no longer be silent, to support one another, and become one voice with a vision to end the violence,” added Ashley Dunn, CEE President and CEO.
To purchase tickets, sponsorships or program ads, please visit: www.thecenterct.org
Or contact Linda Cummins, Special Events Manager at 203-731-5200 x232 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
