The Women’s Crisis Family Outreach Center in Castle Rock received an early Christmas gift from a Castle Rock photographer.

Melissa Loid Lazar, owner of The Whole Part Photography, has embarked on a mission to raise $40,000 for the domestic violence support outreach. Lazar was originally invited to donate a photography package for a crisis center silent auction fundraiser when she turned that donation into something much more.

Lazar tapped into her client base to solicit families who would be interested in letting their children model for the 2009 Calendar of Love. The overwhelming response resulted in a calendar filled with professional photographs of 150 children, primarily from Douglas County.

The calendars were delivered Oct. 30 and were the star item of a launch party attended by more than 100 visitors. The Women’s Crisis Family Outreach Center has a $1 million budget and in 2007 served more than 14,000 victims of domestic violence, said Jaime Stevens, special events and volunteer coordinator.

“We provide a 24-hour emergency shelter in a 12-bed shelter available to women and children in emergency situations,” Stevens said. “We have to redirect as many clients as we can serve through our shelter.”

In addition to the shelter, the crisis center provides services to victims with a 24-hour emergency hotline, legal advocacy services to help clients navigate the daunting legal process, professional mental help therapy on a sliding scale and school-based preventive services to support at-risk children.

The crisis center hosts a handful of fundraisers throughout the year, including the popular empty bowl event.

The center recently launched its annual Adopt-A-Family program to bring holiday cheer to women and children receiving services from the clinic and other programs.

More than 85 percent of money raised for the shelter is returned to victims in the form of support services, Stevens said.

Lazar this year hopes that number increases from the sale of 2,000 calendars at a tax-deductible cost of $20 each.

The outreach is rooted in a personal domestic violence experience Lazar holds close to her heart. A single mom whose ex-husband is primarily absent, Lazar said domestic violence has “absolutely” touched her life, from her childhood into her adulthood.

“I’ve been through so much, I’ve never needed [the support of the crisis center] but … a lot of bad [things have] happened in my life,” she said. “I decided I wanted to raise a lot of money.”

The Calendar of Love is available to purchase at www.thewholepartphotography.com. Those without Internet access can purchase over the phone at 303-946-9461.

For more information about the Women’s Crisis Family Outreach Center, visit www.twcfoc.org.