by Mitchell Brown, Reporter
Survival House is an established outreach support service in Johnson County Missouri, specializing in helping those in need, with a primary focus on survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
In order to provide services to the community, Survival House is reliant on a combination of government funds along with money acquired in the private sector, much of it from fundraisers and donations. Some of Survival House’s fundraisers are centered around holidays and include some form of entertainment.
One of their most popular functions is Girls Night Out, which occurs annually at the University of Central Missouri in the Elliott Union.
Continuing with their tradition of fundraisers comes Boys Night Out. The first Boys Night Out took place last year. This year, the event is scheduled for Sept., 11, at Muddy Creek BBQ, located at 115 N. Holden St. in Warrensburg, a more cozy setting than the sprawling Elliott Union at UCM.
Elaine Sepulveda, director at Survival House, said 35 people attended the Boys Night Out function last year. “It’s small, it’s quaint, it’s comfortable,” Sepulveda said.
She attributed the smaller numbers to the nascent status of the event. “The men are just starting out,” Sepulveda said. She went on to explain the annual Girls Night Out typically has an attendance of around 400 people. Sepulveda said Boys Night Out is not a 400 person event yet.
There are similarities and differences between both events — such as auctions, but the types of goods and services available differs, tailored to each gender specifically.
“We used Brad’s (Bradley Schulte, volunteer coordinator at Survival House) brain to make sure we were going in the right direction and catering to the males,” Sepulveda said.
The prizes available last year included signed sports memorabilia and brewery tours.
“Everything is geared towards men, whether it’s the brewery tours or signed sports memorabilia. Women have their day, this one is for the men,” Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda said that another difference between the two events is that Girls Night Out has 40 vendors, and Boys Night Out has none.
She said the reason is most men are not typically as interested in shopping, though she noted she knows some men who love to shop. Schulte added that most men want to relax after work.
Sepulveda said food, drink and music can provide that relaxation. Local musicians Cowboy Bart & Redman along with Michael Lamont are due to perform at the event. Schulte is no stranger to the local music scene, as he was a regular and bartender at Warrensburg’s recently closed live music venue, The Bay.
Among all the planned merriment of Boys Night Out, the underlying reason for the event is to encourage community involvement with Survival House.
Both Schulte and Sepulveda commented on the importance of male involvement with Survival House.
“Male involvement is important because of the stereotypes that it’s just women that can help, or women are the only ones who can be survivors, and stuff like that,” Schulte said.
For more, follow Survival House on Facebook here.