Did the newborn cry out when she came into the world in 1990?
Did she cry as she was stuffed into a cardboard box, then left on a trash heap near Verdae Boulevard?
She was born alive.
But the baby girl was quiet and lifeless a few days later, on Feb. 13, when a local man found her body while picking wildflowers for his wife.
If law enforcement officers at the scene heard a cry, it was in their hearts. They named the baby Julie Valentine.
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And Julie Valentine is remembered …
… Nowhere more significantly than by the organization dedicated to hearing, healing, inspiring and bringing hope to children, adults and families who have cried out for help.
“It was a big deal in 2011, when we changed our name from Greenville Rape Crisis and Child Abuse Center to Julie Valentine Center,” says Shauna Galloway-Williams, CEO of the organization that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
“That was a bold move, but also one of our best decisions.”
It’s more comfortable for 2,200 clients each year to walk through the door of Julie Valentine Center rather than the Rape Crisis and Child Abuse Center, she says.
“Changing the name has also kept Julie Valentine's legacy alive. It kept her name alive,” Galloway-Williams says. “Even into retirement, investigators were still working the case. I think our name and our center provided fuel to solve this cold case.”
More than 29 years after Julie Valentine took her first breath and her last, DNA evidence was used to charge the birth mother in the deaths of the baby girl and her brother, who had been found abandoned nearby 10 months earlier.
“Think about how one incident of child abuse, child homicide, child neglect, sexual assault … affects so many people,” Galloway-Williams explains.
From TALK Greenville:15 Minutes With ... Julie Valentine Center CEO Shauna Galloway-Williams
“Julie Valentine's story reflects that. You have a community. You have family members. You have siblings. You have aunts and uncles and grandparents. You have a mother and father. What happened to Julie Valentine and her brother continues to impact so many lives.”
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“Everyone knows someone who has been harmed by child abuse and sexual assault, whether they know it or not. The community asks: How could I not have known?” Galloway-Williams says.
“It might be someone they sit beside in school, at work, in church, or who lives next door. Perhaps it's someone who hasn’t shared their experience with anyone. But everybody knows somebody,” she says.
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It happened to Brooke Shields.
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That’s one reason, and not the only reason, for the decision by the staff and Board of Directors of Julie Valentine Center to ask the actor/model/author/mother to speak at their 50th-anniversary luncheon on Feb. 14 at the Greenville Convention Center.
“Most people don’t know her real story. Brooke Shields is re-writing her own narrative of her life. Her entire life was narrated by everybody but her,” Galloway-Williams says.
“She was objectified and sexualized as a young child. And she was sexually assaulted as an adult.”
Shields shared her life through a documentary, “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” which aired on Hulu in April.
“It’s so similar to the experiences of survivors who walk through our doors. They're blaming themselves. Not telling anyone. Not reporting. They're questioning themselves, and often they are being questioned,” Galloway-Williams says.
Myths surrounding sexual abuse create false narratives for both survivors and the community, she says.
“It’s important to emphasize that 90% of the time, children and adults are abused by someone they know, they love, and they trust. Not only are the abusers loved and trusted by their victims, but they are also loved and trusted by the family and the community,” Galloway-Williams says.
“That’s why victims are not believed. That’s why it continues to happen. It’s hard to believe that someone you put your trust in would do this to someone else.
“Someone can be a good person and still do bad things. A great youth leader, a great teacher, a great soccer coach … they could also be someone who can sexually abuse and sexually assault.”
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“Brooke Shields' story and message will speak to survivors and validate that it’s not their fault, that they can heal and persevere,” Galloway-Williams says.
She will help the community understand that anyone can be hurt by these crimes. She will help people realize the importance of the 50 years of services that Julie Valentine Center has provided.
The annual luncheon and program are Julie Valentine Center’s main fundraiser. This year’s goal is to raise more than $300,000. “Every single dollar will continue to support the important work we do,” Galloway-Williams says.
The nationally accredited children’s advocacy center provides free counseling by five full-time, licensed therapists in addition to prevention and education programs.
Julie Valentine Center runs a 24-hour crisis line; provides volunteer advocates who respond to sexual assault victims at nine hospitals – 134 times in 2023; and collaborates with community partners including hospitals, law enforcement, the Solicitor's Office, the S.C. Department of Social Services, and private providers.
The organization was the first in the country to hire a full-time chaplain to support clients and staff. It also conducted the first statewide assessment of services to children and families who have been impacted by child sexual abuse. Called Silent Tears, the effort was launched in 2012 with Bob Castellani.
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“My goal is that Julie Valentine Center becomes a household name,” Galloway-Williams says. “I want people to know that when something happens in their lives or the lives of someone they know or love … that they know how to find us.”
There’s also a promise of hope and healing, she says. “Our luncheon is a way to share that with our community,” she says.
“This work and our events are so uplifting. We are inspired by the amazing work that people do every day, the transformations that we see, and the resilience that we witness. Post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic gifts make us stronger, build us up, and give us strength that we never knew we had.”
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In-person and virtual tickets are available to the Julie Valentine Center 50th Anniversary celebration, at noon Feb. 14 at the Greenville Convention Center. Go towww.julievalentinecenter.org orhttps://secure.qgiv.com/event/2024julievalentinecenterluncheon/
