As a result of defunding earlier this year by Iowa Legislatures, UISG has agreed to match all donations up to $1,500 to the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) via the GOLDrush Platform from now through September 1st.

The organization has started a GOLDrush campaign with a goal of $10,000 in order to raise funds to continue their efforts. The funds will assist the organization to finance some of their key services such as providing housing and transportation services to victims, covering annual cell phone costs to provide 24/7 crisis response, and 24/7 in-person advocacy support.

RVAP hosts the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline, which is a 24-hour crisis line and offers victims free and confidential trauma-informed services as well as prevention education to all individuals. RVAP’s services are available across the counties of Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Lee, Washington, and Van Buren.

According to RVAP, within the past two years, they have received a 647% increase in call volume. The cut in funding will severely damage their efforts in keeping up with the demands.

To donate or learn more about the campaign, visit https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/rvap