PR Contact:
Kay Phelan
Phelan & Lowry, Ltd.
850-376-1551 kayphelan@earthlink.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Celebrate “10 Years of Hope in Walton County”
…11 am, April 8th at the Pierce Family Children’s Advocacy Center in DeFuniak Springs
DeFuniak Springs, FL (February 26, 2026)…The Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC) is pleased to announce their upcoming event to celebrate the opening of their second location in 2016, the Pierce Family Advocacy Center (PFAC) in Walton County. In its first 10 years, this Center alone has seen and helped over 3,000 children in Walton County experiencing abuse, abandonment and neglect.
The public and area businesses are invited to attend the event on April 8, from 11am –1pm at the Pierce Family Advocacy Center, 336 College Avenue, DeFuniak Springs, FL. Their keynote speakers will be ECCAC CEO, Julie Porterfield, and Jim and Tammy Pierce, whom PFAC is named after in honor of their generous donation that made ECCAC’s Walton County center possible. The celebration of “10 Years of Hope in Walton County” will conclude with light refreshments and tours of the facility.
As well, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, an important landmark for ECCAC with their mission to provide a safe, child-friendly environment to give therapy and services for child victims of abuse and neglect. They also administer many educational prevention safety programs from children to teens in area schools. To create awareness, a special Child Abuse Prevention proclamation will be read by Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
The Pierces commented, “We are incredibly honored that the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center
carries our name as it serves abused children in our community. For 10 years, ECCAC has provided hope,
healing, and a voice to those who need it most. We are proud to celebrate this milestone and grateful to
everyone who makes this mission possible.”
Though ECCAC doesn’t house children in their two centers in Okaloosa and Walton County, they provide
advocacy services and therapy to children and families at no cost. Their Centers house representatives
from the Florida Department of Children and Families, Child Protection Teams, State Attorney’s Office,
Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
For further information about the PFAC event, please call Julie Porterfield at 850-974-8668, or email julie@eccac.org. For further information about ECCAC, visit www.eccac.org. If abuse is suspected, report it by calling the anonymous Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE.
# # #
