'Dancing' Star to Talk About Child Abuse During Charity Luncheon Thursday

The CARE House of Oakland County returns to the Townsend Hotel Thursday for their annual Circle of Friends luncheon and this year, they're bringing a dancing star with them.

Cheryl Burke, a dancer on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, will speak during the non-profit's annual charity luncheon, which raises money for the CARE House's child abuse therapy, advocacy and prevention programs.

Burke, a two-time champion on Dancing With the Stars, will tell her story about overcoming childhood abuse and learning how to inspire hope in others, a release from the CARE House says.

"As an organization, CARE House strives to be a leading resource in the prevention of child abuse and neglect," said Carol Furlong, executive director of CARE House.

"The annual Circle of Friends benefit brings continued awareness to these issues and allows us the opportunity to bring attention to the needs of children within our communities that are defenseless," she added. "Cheryl Burke's strength in telling her story lends a voice to our mission and helps move that mission forward for our organization."

In Burke's 2011 autobiography, Dancing Lessons, the dancing star revealed that she was repeatedly molested as a child by a family friend. She later testified against the man in court, helping put him in prison for two decades.

According to Furlong, Burke's story goes to the heart of CARE House's mission.

"I passionately believe that every person has a right to a childhood free of abuse, fear and violence," Furlong said. "More often than not, children suffer in secrecy. They are unnoticed and unprotected. CARE House provides a safe environment to disclose abuse, provides mental health therapy for survivors and spends thousand of hours annually educating the community about this issue."

The Circle of Friends luncheon returns to the Townsend Hotel this year; last year, abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart spoke about her experience being kidnapped from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002.

If you go

• When: Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch starting at noon.
• Where: The Townsend Hotel
• Cost: Tickets for the luncheon start at $95. For last-minute ticket information, contact the CARE House at 248-332-7173 or visit carehouse.org.