Thursday, February 16, 2012

Why We Do It?

The Vagina Monologues at Fordham Law School is a benefit performance to raise money for charity.

V-Day is a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. Further information about V-Day can be found at www.vday.org. V-Day Fordham Law will contribute 100% of the proceeds to local and global charitable organization. 25% of proceeds will benefit the official V-day 2012 campaign to protect the women and girls of Haiti. 25% will also be donated to South Africa’s SWEAT, an organization that provides outreach and assistance to sex workers. The remaining 50% of the proceeds will go to Safe Horizon, a New York organization working to help victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking.

ABOUT V-DAY
V-Day is a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sex slavery. In 2010, more than 5400 V-Day events took place around the world. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $75 million and reached over 300 million people.

Performance is just the beginning. V-Day stages large-scale benefits and produces innovative gatherings, films and campaigns to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women including the documentary Until The Violence Stops; community briefings on the missing and murdered women of Juarez, Mexico; the December 2003 V-Day delegation trip to Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan; the Afghan Women's Summit; the March 2004 delegation to India; the Stop Rape Contest; the Indian Country Project; Love Your Tree; the June 2006 two-week festival of theater, spoken word, performance and community events UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS: NYC; the 2008, V-Day 10-year anniversary events V TO THE TENTH at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome; the Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power To The Women and Girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo Campaign; the V-Girls Campaign and the V-Men Campaign, which launched in 2010.

The V-Day movement is growing at a rapid pace throughout the world, in 130 countries from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and all of North America. V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots, national and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In 2001, V-Day was named one of Worth Magazine's "100 Best Charities" in 2006 one of Marie Claire Magazine’s Top Ten Charities and in 2010 was named as one of the Top-Rated organizations on GreatNonprofits. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina. www.vday.org

SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN OF HAITI:
Each year V-Day increases awareness by focusing on a specific group of women in the world who are resisting violence with courage and vision. In 2011, V-Day's Spotlight Campaign will be on the Women and Girls of Haiti. The Spotlight will highlight the high levels of violence against women and girls in Haiti, and will focus on the increased rates of sexual violence since the devastating earthquake that took place in January 2010. All funds raised through the Spotlight Campaign will be used to support a revolutionary national campaign in Haiti lead by a coalition of women activists - including longtime V-Day activist Elvire Eugene - that will address sexual violence through art, advocacy and legal services.

ABOUT SAFE HORIZONS:
The local charity for V-Day Fordham Law School 2011 is Safe Horizons. Safe Horizon is the largest victims’ services agency in the United States, with 57 locations serving more than 250,000 children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse throughout New York City each year. Since 1978, Safe Horizon has provided victims of domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking, rape and sexual assault, as well as homeless youth and families of homicide victims, with a wide range of comprehensive support. Its programs also partner with governmental and other community agencies so they can offer additional assistance, including finding resources for those living outside New York City. In addition to direct services, Safe Horizon advocates for policies on a local, state, and national level on behalf of those affected by violence and abuse. Learn more at www.safehorizons.org

ABOUT SWEAT:
Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), a South African nonprofit, works to improve the lives of sex workers. During the Fall 2011 semester, SWEAT partnered with the Leitner International Human Rights clinical program at Fordham to research and advocate for ways to end human rights abuses against South African sex workers, many of whom live in conditions of severe poverty and face harassment, discrimination, abuse, and even rape at the hands of clients, pimps, health care providers and police. SWEAT works to ensure that sex workers rights are defended, that sex workers have access to health and other services, and that sex workers are respected and valued members of society. The organization takes a rights based approach to its work. Learn more at www.sweat.org.za/

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Opening tonight

V-Day Fordham Law School's benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues opens tonight. Shows are February 16 and 17 at 8pm in the McNally Amphitheatre (140 W 62nd St). $10 at the door.


Starring 
Laura Berger                                      Jocelyn Brooks
Miriam M. Camara                        Donella M. Green
Kristen McIntosh                                    Lauren Suss
Shannon E. Turner                                  Emily Wolf

Directed by 
Kristen McIntosh 

Producer                                                               Business Manager
Jere Keys                                      Shannon E. Turner