Dancing with Saville Breaks Fundraising Record as Demand for Services Grows

The Saville Center's fifth annual Dancing with Saville fundraiser raised a record $40,205 Saturday, with nine pairs of local "stars" competing in Broadway musical-themed dance performances at the Seretean Center Concert Hall on Oklahoma State University's campus.

"$40,205. Wow, so exciting. We didn't know," said Heather Houle, executive director of The Saville Center. "It was a lower ticket sales year. But a larger funding, so it was amazing."

The event, modeled after the television show "Dancing with the Stars," supports The Saville Center's mission to provide forensic interviews, medical exams, advocacy and mental health services for child abuse victims in Stillwater and surrounding counties.

Kristi Riley and Chris Peters, founder and editor of The Stillwegian, took first place in the judges' competition with their performance of "They Both Reached for the Gun" from the musical "Chicago." The sassy jazz routine impressed judges who included Saville Center representatives and previous competition winners.

Tim Whitley and Theresa Powell finished second with their salsa performance of "America" from "West Side Story." Kansas Houle and Angie O'Daniel placed third with their jazz routine to "Mamma Mia" from the musical "Mamma Mia."

Matt Sullins and Brandi Watts won both the Audience Impact Award for raising the most money and Best Costume for their disco performance of "Blame it on the Boogie" from "Disco Inferno." Watts serves as clinical services director at The Saville Center.

Kansas Houle and Angie O'Daniel also won the Box Office Star Award for selling the most tickets to the event. Kansas, 12, serves as president of The Saville Center's junior board and is the daughter of Executive Director Heather Houle.

"I'm so, so tired. Yeah. I've been napping all day," Kansas said the day after the event, noting she normally wakes at 5:45 a.m. but slept until 8:45 a.m. following the performance.

Other competing pairs included Maggie Piwenitzky and Barry Fuxa with a waltz to "Memory" from "CATS"; Carson Watts and Callie Burton performing a two-step to "Anything You Can Do" from "Annie Get Your Gun"; Sharyl Pickens and Bobby Wintle with a quickstep to "Welcome to the 60's" from "Hairspray"; Grace Impson and Chris Hassig, Stillwater's new police chief, with a jazz performance to "Friend Like Me" from "Aladdin"; and Amber Fladie and Nick Johnson with a hip hop routine to "Alexander Hamilton" from "Hamilton."

Winners of the first-ever Junior Dancing with the Stars competition, competitive dancers Kyli Back, 12, and Junia Hayes, 14, opened the event with a performance from the musical "Hamilton."

The record fundraising comes as The Saville Center navigates substantial budget challenges stemming from pandemic-related court closures across the country.

Federal funding has been reduced by $212,000 over the past three years, with $90,000 of that reduction occurring last year alone. The center's Victims of Crime Act grant, which previously provided $243,000 annually, now provides only $72,000.

The dramatic reduction stems from court shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The VOCA grant is funded through fines and fees collected by the judicial system.

"It's off of fines and fees for court cases. And during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, a lot of the courts closed down around our nation, especially federal level with white collar crimes," Houle said.

The timing creates a significant challenge for the center, as demand for services has increased in the pandemic's aftermath while funding has decreased.

"When the pandemic ended for everybody, it just started for us," Houle said in a previous interview. "We're seeing the lasting effects of when everybody was home – the mental health issues, the abuse, the drug endangerment."

Last year's Dancing with Saville proceeds helped pay off the Medical Cottage, the building where The Saville Center provides services. With that debt eliminated, this year's funds will address operational needs.

"All of our direct services, any kind of supplies, travel, training, anything like that. It'll go back directly to services provided with our six team members," Houle said.

The Saville Center operates through a collaborative model, bringing together law enforcement, the Department of Human Services, the district attorney's office, mental health professionals and medical providers. The partners meet weekly to discuss cases and coordinate responses.

"For any of us, that means accountability," Houle said. "I get to see how all these partners work together. And we don't always see eye-to-eye, and that is okay."

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The partnership allows the center to provide services that law enforcement cannot offer alone, said Mary Kellison, a detective with the Stillwater Police Department.

"We are very fortunate to have this facility here," Kellison said. "Investigations, or investigators, detectives, law enforcement, we have a role to play, but it is completely different than the role that the employees of the Saville Center can offer."

Kellison explained that while police officers conduct investigations, they cannot provide the long-term support children need.

"I can't be that person for them long-term," Kellison said. "And so the care that the Saville Center gives these children after we're able to rescue them from the situation that they're in, and they're able to come here and they're able to have people with them from the very beginning to the very end of their journey, and longer, if need be."

The center's child-friendly environment helps overcome barriers that can prevent children from sharing what happened to them.

"Most of the time, these children are told not to trust the police," Kellison said. "So like, if a police officer shows up at your door in a uniform, they're less likely to talk to us in that capacity, and that's what's so nice about having the Saville Center."

Houle emphasized that while the center partners with investigative agencies, it serves a distinct role.

"We're a child-friendly environment where children are believed and can share their truth," Houle said. "We don't determine what happens after that in the investigative process."

Inside The Saville Center's Medical Cottage, warm colors, comfortable furniture and child-friendly décor create a welcoming environment where children can share their truth during forensic interviews and receive medical care. "We're a child-friendly environment where children are believed and can share their truth," Executive Director Heather Houle said. The facility serves as an alternative to investigations conducted in homes where perpetrators may be present. – Photos Provided

The nature of the center's work creates unique challenges for fundraising.

"Those aren't a number. We give the number to the community, because we can't share those names, but those are humans to us," Houle said of the children served. "Their stories are stories that we take home every night."

The sensitive subject matter makes traditional fundraising approaches difficult, yet the need for community support remains critical. Events like Dancing with Saville provide opportunities for the community to support the mission without confronting the difficult details of individual cases.

"It's just hard," Houle said. "We see their faces in town. We're cheering for them from behind the scenes."

The junior board has emerged as an important part of The Saville Center's community engagement efforts. Started three years ago when Kansas was nine, the board now includes eight members from elementary through high school across multiple schools.

"Shannon and I, we were just sitting down in Stonecloud, and she was like, Kansas, I've had this dream for eight years, and I've never found a person that can bring it to life for me," Kansas recalled. "And I was like, I'm nine years old, what are you talking about?"

Shannon Hiner, director of victim services at The Saville Center, had been envisioning a junior board to expand community engagement and youth involvement in the center's mission.

Kansas Houle, 12, junior board president at The Saville Center, with the little library the youth group created as their first project. The library serves students at the nearby bus stop, providing free books, food and toiletries. – Photos by Chris Peters

The junior board's first major project, a little library housed in a repurposed doghouse painted white to match Saville Center buildings, exceeded expectations. The group raised $700 through hat days at schools and penny wars to reach their $500 goal.

The library stocks books, canned food items and toiletries and is restocked at least three times a week, Kansas said. Located near a bus stop, it serves elementary, middle school and high school students.

"I have a house with all my needs are met. I have food, I have water, I have a mattress, a roof over my head, and amazing parents and siblings," Kansas said. "But I know that there's so many kids around me that don't have that, and even close people around me that don't have that. So, that is my why and why I do this."

The junior board plans to add a garden around the little library in spring and expand membership to other counties served by The Saville Center, which works with children and families beyond Stillwater.

"In January, we're really picking up the junior board again, because in April we have so many events," Kansas said.

The Saville Center served 537 children in 2024, up from 403 children in 2023. Through December 2025, the center has already served 510 children with the year still ongoing. This increased demand comes as the center operates with reduced funding.

The 33 percent increase from 2023 to 2024 represents the highest number of children served in a single year since the center's founding. The trend shows no signs of slowing.

"We're getting a reduction in one area and the needs and risk increased in the other area," Houle said in an March interview. "Where we would have needed more, we're getting less and trying to find new ways and new avenues."

The center relies on a combination of grant funding, community partnerships, monthly donors and fundraising events to meet its operational expenses of approximately $600,000 annually.

"It's never going to end. Our numbers are increasing," Houle said. "If you have a heart to help children and families in our community, I have a place for you. Get on our website and get connected. We've got a lot of opportunities to volunteer or to give."

For more information about The Saville Center or to support their work, visit www.thesavillecenter.org