October 27 was a great day for Walton County children experiencing the ordeal of abuse, abandonment or neglect. Amidst great fanfare, including a $1-million donation by the Pierce Family, the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC) held their official ground breaking for a new center in DeFuniak Springs, expected to open in early 2016.

Since 1998, the Advocacy Center has been working to help children impacted by child abuse and neglect from their 13,000-square-foot facility in Niceville. The new center in DeFuniak Springs will help the group reach more children in Walton County. The new 15,000-square-foot facility will house a team of child-protection personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, Department of Children and Families officials, therapists and Advocacy Center staff, much likes its counterpart in Niceville. The new center will also feature an interior courtyard and a saltwater aquarium.

The groundbreaking was held 14 years to the day since the group opened their first center in Niceville. “As Margaret Meade once said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has,’ ” said the center’s CEO Julie Hurst.

Allen Ray McGinnis, the architect who designed the Niceville center, is again donating his talents for the Walton County facility. Terry Jones of Compass Builders is donating his contracting services and Tracy Jernigan and Matt Parker of JP Engineering have also donated their talents to make the project a reality. In addition, Defuniak Springs Mayor Bob Campbell and the City Council have showed spirit and support since the inception of the project and the Walton County Commissioners donated the land at the new location on College Avenue.

“So many people aren’t aware of the need that exists in Walton County to help impacted children restore their lives,” said Florida Sen. Don Gaetz, one of the many dignitaries who attended the groundbreaking. He noted that just in the past two-and-a-half years since the center opened its temporary facility in DeFuniak Springs, they have served 616 children. The new center will be able to help even more. “This is a cause in which I take great personal interest in my district, and even more so, because of my background in the Okaloosa County education system. On a daily basis, we saw what children of all ages had to deal with when adverse problems arose in their home lives. ECCAC is in place to help guide these children back to normal lives.”

With help from Gaetz and his son, state Rep. Matt Gaetz, ECCAC successfully secured $250,000 in state funds to help build the new Walton County center, with $100,000 more per year for operation once it’s built. The $3-million fundraising effort for the new center is still seeking donations. Room sponsorships at are available with specific rooms in the center being named in honor of the donor. Jim Pierce, a Walton County resident, has pledged to match any donations raised during 2015.

For more info, visit the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center or call 850.833.9237, Ext. 222. If abuse is suspected, call the anonymous Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE.