Every year, 1.3 million women in the U.S. become victims of domestic violence.

One in every four women will experience domestic violence at some point in her life.

On average, domestic violence kills three women every day, according to the Domestic Violence Resource Center.

Those women need something to turn to, said Jim Walters, the executive director of HOPE of East Central Illinois.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Walters said.

HOPE will hold its annual Bowls of Hope fundraiser dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at St. Charles Catholic Church, 921 Madison Ave., to raise money to aid victims of domestic violence and their children as well as educate the public.

Tickets will be available at the door, and guests have the option of paying either $15 for dinner and a handcrafted bowl or $5 just for dinner. The menu will include soups donated from local restaurants, bread, a vegetable tray, coffee, lemonade and tea.

Guests will also be treated to musical entertainment courtesy of Motherlode, a local string band, throughout the meal.

Diners will not have to eat the soup out of their new ceramic bowls, which are handmade by a number of private and individual artists, said Walters.

“They’re really nice, unique, different pieces,” Walters added.

A celebrity dessert auction is also planned for the event. A local celebrity, acting as an auctioneer, will present pastries and other sweets provided by area restaurants for guests to bid on, and the highest bidder will win the treat.

HOPE, which stands for Housing, Outreach, Prevention and Education, is a non-profit organization that has provided help and shelter to victims of domestic violence in east central Illinois for decades.

The organization also offers educational programs designed to help raise awareness of violence in the communities it serves.

Since the group began in a two-bedroom Charleston apartment in the 1970s, the organization has grown to encompass seven counties in Illinois, ranging from Shelby to Edgar County, offering two housing programs, a 24-hour toll-free crisis hotline, individual counseling and programs for children.

Eastern has always had close ties to the organization: Louise Jackson, who was a psychology professor, was one of the group’s founding members; and faculty members have always been heavily involved, Walters said.

Walters added that-as women ages 20 to 24 experience the highest rate of partner abuse-domestic violence could also be an unfortunate reality for college students.

“You’d be surprised; we work with a lot of students,” he said.

Emily Reid can be reached at 581-7942 or at ejreid2@eiu.edu.