Dozens of people rappelled down a five-story building at Stadium Park Plaza in downtown Bowling Green on Sept. 26, helping the ninth annual "Over the Edge" fundraiser bring in more than $170,000 for the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center, according to WBKO.
The total topped the event's original fundraising goal of $125,000, WBKO reported. Over its nine years, "Over the Edge" has now generated more than $1.2 million in community support for the center, according to WBKO's reporting.
The event, which began in 2018, asks participants to raise pledges and then rappel from the top of a downtown building — a hands-on way of dramatizing, as organizers have described it, the courage it takes for a child to come forward about abuse.
Why It Matters Here
The Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center, known locally as BRACAC, serves as the regional hub for responding to child sexual abuse cases across south-central Kentucky. The center provides forensic interviews, medical exams and trauma-informed mental health therapy to survivors, all at no cost to families, according to the center's website. It also offers abuse-prevention programming in area schools.
BRACAC serves roughly 1,000 children a year in the region, BRACAC executive director Leah Thompson told WBKO. The center is an accredited member of the National Children's Alliance and works alongside a multidisciplinary team that includes law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, physicians and therapists, the center says — the kind of coordinated response meant to spare young victims from having to retell their story to different agencies.
Money raised through community events like "Over the Edge" makes up a significant part of how that free care gets funded, since families are never charged for the center's services.
This year's rappel has already taken place; based on the event's nine-year run, BRACAC is expected to hold "Over the Edge" again next September, though the center had not announced 2027 plans as of this writing.
