GREENFIELD — For Donna Lloyd, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin and North Quabbin is more than just an organization where she volunteers her time.

As someone with experience seeking help from the center, which offers a safe environment at its Wisdom Way offices for children to be interviewed who have disclosed physical or sexual abuse, it’s more personal than that.

Speaking to a crowd of community leaders during the organization’s eighth annual Hope, Healing & Help Breakfast held at Greenfield Community College on Friday morning, Lloyd shared that nearly a decade ago, two of her nieces were placed into her care by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). After hearing about the experiences of one of her nieces, she contacted DCF and a meeting was set up at the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office in Greenfield, where the Children’s Advocacy Center was then housed.

“We didn’t have the beautiful home on Wisdom Way when my girls were affected,” she said. “I had to take them to the District Attorney’s Office in Greenfield. It was a tiny little room; they just had some toys to play with and the person from the DA’s office to sit with them and distract them a little. ... I was escorted to this room and when the door opened, it literally took my breath away. There sat, a team of people, willing to listen to the girls. It made a huge difference for me. … They only had to tell their story one time.”

If the girls were required to tell their respective stories multiple times — to the police, the DCF, the district attorney — “they never would have gotten through this,” she said. “That’s because of the CAC.”

“They were going to seek justice for our girls,” Lloyd recalled. “Names may escape me but what they do — their courage, their love, their support, their understanding for these children — is second to none. It takes this whole team of people to help these children.”

Each year, the Hope, Healing & Help Breakfast serves as one of the organization’s biggest fundraisers as it looks to continue and expand upon the services it was able to offer families like Lloyd’s.

In the past year, Executive Director Jeffrey Trant said the Children’s Advocacy Center has added a pediatric sexual assault examiner and three specialized mental health clinicians. The center worked with 108 children, bringing the total number of children that have been assisted from Franklin County and the North Quabbin area since 2016 to 800.

“In the coming year, we will continue to focus on meeting the clinical needs of the community while at the same time making sure we have the resources necessary to deliver sustainable services,” Trant said.

Legislators were recognized for their role in transforming the organization from its modest beginnings to the place it is today. Sens. Jo Comerford and Paul Mark, and Reps. Natalie Blais and Susannah Whipps received the Heroes of Justice Award.

“They work every day for us; they make sure that our needs are taken care of,” said Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan. “We don’t always see their work, but events like this are just a minor part of what they do. Behind the scenes, they’re working every day for us. Their collective legislative efforts have made a huge difference in the growth and stability of the [Children’s Advocacy Center] in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region. For every child that enters the CAC, each of these four legislators are committed ... to their justice.”

Kimberly Williams and Nick Waynelovich of Ja’Duke Center for Performing Arts in Turners Falls were also recognized Friday morning as the recipients of the Champions of Children Award.

“Since opening their doors, countless children and families have become part of the Ja’Duke family,” said Jean Gagne, who presented the father and daughter duo the award. “They’ve benefited from a multi-faceted exposure to the arts. The Children’s Advocacy Center envisions a world where children are free from abuse and grow up in a safe … community. Ja’Duke does that. They help children fulfill their potential.”

Before closing out the evening with a performance of “Peter Pan” by Ja’Duke students, Merrill Gagne implored attendees to pull out their checkbooks for the cause. He echoed Children’s Advocacy Center board President Bill Benson’s introductory remarks that emphasized the need for community support.

“All of these children that are being abused in one way or another need kindness,” he said. “They need to know what love is. They need to know what it’s like to rely on someone, so they can teach the future generation.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.