When she was a kid, she saw her mom become a victim of domestic violence and almost lose her life to it. Then, when she grew into an adult, she herself became a victim of domestic violence over the course of multiple relationships.  Kimberly Marx-Steele, owner of The Bar Method physical fitness club in Santa Clarita, does not want people to go through what she experienced. However, if they do, she said she hopes they’ll know that help is available.  Marx-Steele came to Saturday morning’s Purple Walk Domestic Violence 5K event on Centre Pointe Parkway in Santa Clarita with a group of employees and members of The Bar Method, along with hundreds of others who participated, to help raise awareness and funds.  “I knew that when I was going to open a business, I was going to leverage the platform to bring more awareness and education to domestic violence,” Marx-Steele said in an interview before the walk got underway. “Our whole community comes together every October. I’m so happy that so many people in our community care about it so much and come out and do this. And because the topic is so taboo, it makes me extra proud that so many people are willing to be loud about their support for victims and survivors.”  The Purple Walk, which is an annual event hosted by Child & Family Center, began with a pancake breakfast that the Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley prepared. Check-in began at 8 a.m. The walk of the surrounding area started just after 9.  Participants eat a pancake breakfast during the annual Purple Walk Domestic Violence Awareness 5K on Saturday morning in Santa Clarita. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Participants were given purple Purple Walk shirts to go along with other purple attire that many people wore — purple hats, purple shoes, purple necklaces, a purples tutu, purple sunglasses and one bright, sparkly purple jacket, the latter item worn by Child & Family Center CEO Nikki Buckstead.  Volunteers hand out custom-made shirts during the annual Purple Walk Domestic Violence Awareness 5K on Saturday morning at the Child & Family Center in Santa Clarita. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “We are the third largest city in L.A. County,” Buckstead said in an interview, “and we (Child & Family Center) are the sole provider here in the community to support victims and survivors of domestic violence.”  Buckstead said the walk is the second largest fundraiser the center does each year to raise funds for their domestic violence program, second only to its Taste of the Town event in May. The walk, which the center hosts in October during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, had already raised over $55,000 before anyone actually began walking, she said.   According to Cheryl Jones, vice president of marketing and community outreach for Child & Family Center, the group was expecting to collect over $65,000 by the end of the day.  Buckstead said that the money they bring in is of great importance.  “It’s so we can continue to answer our 24-hour hotline, make sure that when the children come to our shelter that we have diapers and clothes and everything they need, and it keeps our shelter open,” she said. “Sometimes we have to help relocate families out of state, so we want to make sure that we have all of those resources available.”  Buckstead added that domestic violence numbers in Santa Clarita have gone up 37% in the past year. Those numbers, she said, only represent the reported cases.  Nikki Buckstead, Child & Family Center CEO, spoke to participants during the annual Purple Walk Domestic Violence Awareness 5K on Saturday morning in Santa Clarita. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Di Thompson, who’s on the Child & Family Center board of directors, said that’s exactly why Saturday’s event was important — it gets people talking about domestic violence, which is one of those things people keep out of discussions, particularly in Santa Clarita.   “There’s a lot of shame around it,” she said. “Bringing awareness to it is really important in order to break those cycles.”  Thompson added that domestic violence can begin for some during the middle-school years. At the event on Saturday, several participants included entire families with kids. Creating awareness for those younger ones is crucial, she said, because they can nip domestic violence in the bud if they’re ever to be exposed to it, in which case they’d be more prepared to deal with it.  Children enjoy the bubbles during the annual Purple Walk Domestic Violence Awareness 5K on Saturday morning at the Child & Family Center in Santa Clarita. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “Really, it’s something I think a lot of people are not aware of out here,” said Rick Garcia, who’s also on the Child & Family Center board of directors. “It’s because we live these lives in this amazing, amazing community. But there are people who need help.”  Caitlin Preciado, one of the members of The Bar Method group, said she was doing the Purple Walk for the third time this year. When it was time for the walk to begin, she and the hundreds of others taking part filed under the purple arch amid clouds of purple chalk, with hopes to help those dealing with the ugliness that is domestic violence.  For more information about Child & Family Center, go to ChildFamilyCenter.org.  Participants walk through purple dust as they begin their journey during the annual Purple Walk Domestic Violence Awareness 5K on Saturday morning in Santa Clarita. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The post Purple Walk Domestic Violence 5K raises funds and awareness  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.