MOCSA Advocate and Volunteer Awarded

Kansas City Advocate, MOCSA Organization Volunteer Receive Statewide Awards

Topeka, KS, 2/12/2015 – A Kansas City advocate and a volunteer with an organization working on behalf of victims of sexual violence have been recognized by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (KCSDV). Angie Blumel, Director of Community Services at the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA), was presented with the Juliene Maska Outstanding Advocate of the Year Award, and Karen Pyles, a volunteer for MOCSA, was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Both awards were presented during KCSDV’s 12th Annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets Awareness Day and Sunflower Safety Breakfast event in Topeka on February 12. MOCSA, an organization serving victims of sexual violence in Johnson, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties, nominated Blumel and Pyles for the awards.

Since 1995, KCSDV has been recognizing outstanding advocates and allies who are working to enhance victim safety, to increase perpetrator accountability, and to prevent and eliminate sexual and domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in Kansas.

“We honor both Angie Blumel and Karen Pyles for their tireless efforts on behalf of victims of sexual violence,” said Joyce Grover, executive director of KCSDV. “Their work is transformative and life-saving in so many ways.”

Blumel has worked on behalf of survivors of sexual violence for over ten years and her leadership is evident in managing MOCSA’s 24-Hour Crisis Line program. In 2014, MOCSA staff and volunteers responded to 3,084 calls to the 24-Hour Crisis Line. “Ms. Blumel’s commitment to the field of sexual violence is unparalleled,” said Julie Donelon, President and CEO of MOCSA. “Over the past 5 years, Ms. Blumel has expertly managed a 58 percent increase in the number of hospital advocacy activations in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. This increase is a testament to her work in the community and her commitment to ensuring that all survivors of sexual violence receive compassionate, victim-centered services. Angie is not only an incredible manager but a skilled advocate for survivors. We are proud of all that Angie has accomplished and we look forward to her continued role in advancing the issue of sexual violence in our community,” said Donelon.

Pyles has been a volunteer with MOCSA for a number of years. Since 2013, Pyles has served as a hospital advocate, survivor speaker, and educator. In less than two years, Pyles accumulated almost 1,800 hours of volunteer service, serving on MOCSA’s Survivor Speaker’s Bureau, engaging with community members at education events, and providing hospital advocacy to survivors across the Kansas City metro area.

“Karen is a tireless advocate for survivors of sexual violence,” said Misty Campbell, Volunteer Coordinator for MOCSA. “She is well respected by her fellow volunteers, staff, and community, and exemplifies all the positive attributes of the anti-sexual violence movement; courage, empathy, and passion,” said Campbell. Pyles is dedicated to ensuring that every survivor has someone with them during the hospital sexual assault examination and that communities understand how to support and empower survivors of sexual violence.

“Volunteers like Karen are more valuable than gold,” said Grover. “So many lives are positively touched by this one woman – it’s breathtaking.”

Other award winners at this year’s event included Steve Howe, Johnson County District Attorney, and Ministry Against Domestic Violence in Great Bend, for the Community Ally of the Year Awards; and the Art Circles project of Family Crisis Services, Inc. in Garden City for the Project of the Year Award.

Photos available upon request.