Anti-Violence Volunteer, Fundraising, and Donation Opportunities

Anti-Violence Volunteer, Fundraising, and Donation Opportunities

It happens ocasionally. I receive a somewhat desperate email. The author had read my story, read the effects of violence and abuse, perhaps visited the sites I link to and read the horror stories there. A bit overwhelmed, they email me with "what can be done about all of this?!" Yes of course the bad news is that abuse and its effects are bleak and horrifying. However, there is good news. The good news is that there ARE things you can do to help prevention, or to help survivors heal. The following is a list of suggestions for volunteer efforts and other ideas to help make the world a better place for survivors, and a safer place for everyone else. If you have an idea to add to this list, please email me at annaleigh@aswaterspassingby.org. To return to the main page click here.

Start A Stuffed Animal Project for Abused Children --
Stuffed animals are some of the best friends of children, and serve to comfort them. Child abuse victims are no exception to this. If you have stuffed animals you'd like to part with, or would like to start a stuffed animal drive for shelters and Child Protective Services, they will probably gladly accept such an act of love and kindness. You can read about one such project (in Canada) here.

In Kind Gifts to Hope for Healing --
The Christian charity Hope for Healing could use your assistance. Ideas for In Kind gifts include gift cards to Walmart or Staples (to use to purchase office supplies), stamps (for postage), materials or pre-cut squares for the Hope Quilt, and books for the lending library. Also if you live in the vicinity of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, you may want to consider volunteering.

Create A Scarf for Threads of Compassion --
Survivors of sexual violence, do you like to knit or crochet, or would like to learn and could use the practice? Threads of Compassion is a new organization that provides scarves knitted or crochetted by survivors to the newly victimized upon their arrival to the hospital for emergency treatment. The new victim is informed that the scarf is hers/his, made for her/him by a survivor, who they will never meet or know their identity, but automatically a connection is made between two survivors.

Write A Letter to the Editor Section of Your Local Newspaper --
One thing that gets people thinking is when a good letter appears in a newspaper they are reading. Writing letters about child abuse, domestic violence, or rape brings awareness to many, and gives you to the opportunity to sound off. Your letter can deal with local issues, such as statisics and their implications, victim services, or any other local issue. Or, you may want to write about abuse in other parts of the world, such as the tragedies in Darfur, Sudan; Juarez, Mexico; or South Africa. A well researched and expressed opinion will hopefully gather attention and awareness and lead to something more!

Donate Used Clothing, Cell Phones, etc. for Battered Women --
Battered women's shelters and a lot of other organizations serving domestic violence victims have a lot of needs. Clothing is one. Cell phones are another. Yes, cell phones. They are used so that survivors can call 911 in the event they are in danger. That is the only way the phones are used, but it is a vitally important way to use them. Visit Donate A Phone to learn about how your cell phones can be used to help. Also, I would look up a website for your local battered women's shelter. That should give you an idea of what kind of used items they need.

Consider Becoming a Rape Crisis Counselor --
Soon there will be two ways you can do this, through your local RCC, or now through the Internet. Counseling victims through the Internet is done through RAINN, and you must first train with your local crisis center, then you will be affilated with your local RCC but do the counseling through the online hotline. Visit RAINN for more information.

Participate In the V-Day Events/Vagina Monologues --
V-Day is an organization promoting awareness about violence against women. The major event with V-Day is the performances worldwide of the Vagina Monologues a play that deals entirely with women's experiences, including abuse. You might like to audition and perform in the play, work behind the scenes, or just attend. Either one is quite an experience.

Participate In the Clothesline Project --
The Clothesline Project is a visual display testifying to the impact of violence on the lives of women in your community. What it is, is basically it is a display of t-shirts (sometimes color coded by type of violence suffered) decorated & marked upon by women survivors of violence. If you are a survivor, you might want to create your own t-shirt for the exhibit. You may want to organize an exhibit in your community, or, you might just want to attend an exhibit.

Throw A 'Happy Birthday Tori' Bash! --
One excellent way to raise funds for RAINN is to throw a birthday party in founder Tori Amos' honor...if you'd like to get together with some friends and enjoy some food, drink, and fun in honor of a great woman while raising funds for the organization she helped nurture, then a birthday party is your game! RAINN has a FAQ on throwing Tori birthday parties here. Tori's birthday is in late August.

Sell Items on eBay for Organization of Your Choice --
Do you like selling stuff on eBay? Have stuff to get rid of? You may want to consider becoming an eBay seller. It can be things you need to get rid of, it can literally be ANYTHING. For ideas, check out my fundraisers page to see what others have been selling. The profits can go to any charity, ministry, or organization that serves survivors, of your choice.

Write/Publish an Anti-Violence Zine! --
If you enjoying writing about the issues of the day, why not write a zine about rape, child abuse, and domestic violence? Publishing your zine is as simple as publishing the first copy from your computer printing, and zeroxing it for more copies. Writing a zine (an indepedent magazine) is not about having the glossiest mag out there, it is about your ideas, and your heart. You may want to write about local violence issues, and you may want to expand your scope to the world theater. Once (self) published, you may want to begin your own distro, or you may want to give distributing rights to more established distroes. Click here for some tips on writing a zine.

Write Your Senator/Congressman/Other Politician --
You will want to you keep yourself informed about upcoming legislation so that you can write your senators, representatives, and other politicians and make your voice heard. The passage of the Violence Against Women Act is a excellent example of this! Congress.org is a great site that has tons of information on writing politicians, and helps you find your politicians. Also, here is a helpful link with tips on writing an effective letter to your congressman.

Start a Survivor or Supporter Website --
I can think of no better way to take back your voice while helping many other survivors in one fell swoop than by starting your own survivor site. Your site need not be the best looking, or the most informative, it depends on your heart and your willingness to share with others that they may begin to heal, or to understand (if they have not had your experiences). There are many tutorials and other things out there to get you started on building your site, and if you ask an established webmaster of a survivor site for advice, I know they will give it to you. And if you are the loved one of a survivor, starting a supporter site is a good way for you too to reclaim your voice, as well as add to the collective voice condemning violence and abuse. Your site may end up taking quite a bit of your time like mine does, but believe me, if you are willing to spare that time, it is worth it.

Have a Raffle for a Worthy Charity/Ministry Supporting Survivors --
One way to raise awareness of the anti-abuse/rape cause is to have a raffle! If you can come up with some great gifts that people would love to have (maybe you can even get community merchants to donate) you can have a raffle. I would include pamphlets or brochures of the beneficiary organization with the tickets if were you, and you have the choice of giving the raised funds to a local shelter or organization, or to a more national one, such as RAINN, or Hope for Healing.

Donate Literature to Your Local Library --
Another thing you can do is donate used or new books on healing, statistics, information, etc. to your local library. You can buy them anywhere, at second hand stories, used bookstores, Barnes & Noble, online you can get them at Amazon or ABEBooks.com. Hope for Healing a Christian charity serving rape and domestic violence survivors maintains a lending library as well.

Donate Funds to a Charity or Ministry of Your Choice --
This one is pretty self explanatory. There are many organizations or ministries (such as RAINN, Hope for Healing ) that could benefit from a monetary donation. There are also likely rape crisis centers, battered women's shelters, and charities serving abused children. One only need look.

Attend or Organize a Demonstration/Take Back the Night --
Attending a demonstration is an emotional way to connect with survivors, as well as raise crucial awareness. You would be making your voice heard. The most popular demonstration is Take Back the Night. Men, if you think you would be out of place, please know that your strength is needed, and often requested. Many supportive men serve as security for the women survivors who are marching. (Sometimes their attackers decide to try and find them there).

Purchase From Fundraisers
There are literally hundreds of good stuff you can purchase as gifts for yourself or for others. Not all of it has to do directly with survival. If you check out my fundraisers page, you'll see there's a lot of goodies such as candles, soaps, faerie items, and more that do not announce their ties to survivors ship. But if you want survivor gear, gear from healing message boards, etc. you'll find a lot of that on the fundraising page as well. Keep it all in mind for birthdays, the winter holidays, and survivor anniversaries!

Wear Awareness Gear and Talk About It --
You can buy all kinds of awareness gear at the fundraisers listed on my fundraisers page. You can get buttons, bracelets (including the popular Livestrong type of bracelet), t-shirts, and more. Once you are wearing your gear, when people ask about it, tell them what it stands for and why you're wearing it, whether your grear stands for sexual assault, child abuse, or domestic violence awareness!

Join Anti-Violence Organization --
There are many organizations that fight violence worldwide. If you become a due paying member of one, such as Amnesty International, Equality Now, Incite!, or Hope for Healing, you are doing something in the right direction to preventing violence. I would recommend you get involved with the letter writing aspect of joining an organization, for instance.

Tell People Violence Is Wrong --
Simply speaking out and stopping jokes about abuse or rape, or by simply denouncing violence, you are doing a brave thing. The way this world is, violence is accepted. By refusing to accept violence, you are opening eyes. Do not tolerate hate speech, or any other way in which violence is made light.

Join RAINN"s Speakers Bureau --
Are you a survivor? The loved one of a survivor? If you join the speakers bureau, you will be telling your story to whoever would like to interview you. You may speak at schools, be interviewed for magazines or television, etc. It's a nervewracking job, but if you can do it, it is well worth telling your story. Click here for more information.

Get Carded --
You can volunteer to distribute wallet size RAINN cards at the start of the college semester. Click here for more information. These cards are valuable as college age women are especially vulnerable to sexual assault.

Offer to Lick Stamps/Fold Pamphlets/Handle Mail --
Organizations such as local anti-domestic violence alliances, child abuse shelters, rape crisis centers, etc. could use your effort handling mail. Simple tasks such as stamping envelopes and folding brochures or pamphlets are rather repetitve, but if you keep in mind the good deed you are doing it's not so hard or boring to do it. To find such an organization in your area, search on the internet, or in your local phone directory.

Distribute Brochures In Your Community --
One way to raise awareness is to place brochures from the organization of your choice in public community places, such as your local college campus. Organizations such as RAINN and Hope for Healing offer brochures they make available for such purposes, and they are vital for getting out the word of the organization's services.

Operation Freefall --
Every year the organization SOAR (Speaking Out Against Rape) hosts Operation Freefall, an event which raises funds for RAINN through skydiving. The purposes is to raise these funds for RAINN via sponsorships for the skydivers, and to raise awareness. You can choose to go on the skydive, or you can help out on the ground.

Have a Bake Sale/Garage Sale --
Do you like to bake? Or do you have junk you need to get rid of? Throwing a bake sale or garage sale is an excellent way to raise funds for a national organization like RAINN, Hope for Healing, etc. or for a local shelter or crisis center. You need not tell people the funds are going to an anti-abuse organization, or if you'd like, you can give out brochures with each purchase. It's up to you. :)

Donate In Kind Gifts to a Crisis Pregnancy Center --
Donating to a crisis center does your part to enable that babies concieved through rape can remain with the mother if that's what the mother desires. Gifts of diapers, formula, clothes, etc. or big gifts such as car seats all help to enable the baby to remain with the mother. For your local crisis pregnancy center, search your phone book under the heading "Abortion Alternatives".

Create Anti-Violence Art --
There is a quote from poet & survivor Maya Angelou that goes (paraphrasing) "If you're a writer and see an injustice, write it. If you're a painter, paint it." Creating anti-violence art, either from the point of view of a survivor, or from the POV of a supporter, brings awareness to the table and creates meaningful works of art that are healing to the reader, watcher, viewer, etc. Consider creating a webpage to exhibit your work, or joining the Survivors Art Foundation.

Start Art Workshops for Survivors --
If you start art workshops you can teach them all kinds of arts, poetry, journaling, painting, drawing, photography, dance, acting, and they can use these arts to break their silence, tell their stories, and reclaim more of their voice and dignity. Some organizations already doing this are Arte Sana (Art Heals), which serves the Latino/a community, and Innermotion which teaches dance and movement therapy to survivors of sexual violence.

Arrange for Speakers to Come to Your School --
One thing you may want to do to raise awareness, is to bring speakers to your college or high school (or even middle school). RAINN has a speakers bureau which among other things, matches survivors up with schools to talk about their experiences. Email Darcy for more information (see bureau link).

Start Bible Studies for Survivors
If you are a Christian, you may want for your church to feature a special Bible study for survivors. Some books that will help facilitate study of the Word include Lord Heal My Hurts by Kay Arthur, Beauty for Ashes by Joyce Meyer, Woman Thou Art Loosed: Healing the Wounds of the Past by T.D. Jakes, and Hope for the Brokenhearted: Biblical Solutions for Survivors of Abuse and Rape by Todd R. Cook. A Bible study allows for survivors (especially women) to fellowship, draw closer to each other, and find others that can support them in their healing.

Participate in the Healing Through Creativity Events
Healing Through Creativity is an event where survivors and their supporters present art, music, poetry and other writings. There are many volunteer opportunities, and opportunities to perform or share your creations. Check the website for more information.

Participate or Coordinate A Women's Week Awareness Effort
Women's Week is from February 15-23. You find an event to attend and participate in, or if there's nothing, why not get something started! Pixie of Rape Crisis Information Pathfinder has some ideas here!

Submit a letter to the Letters to My Abusers project
Author Stephanie Gagos is compiling an anthology made up of survivors of sexual abuse who write to their abusers. Visit Letters to My Abusers for more info. You simply write and submit your letter, and if published, you receive a contributer's copy! It is a great way to get those emotions out.

Participate in the Walk A Mile In Her Shoes March
Walk A Mile In Her Shoes is a relatively new men's march to show opposition to sexual violence against women, by collecting pledges, and literally walking a mile in women's high heel shoes. Proceeds raised are given to local anti-violence organizations.

Take the Stewards of Children Training
If you work with children, or want to work with children, it's hightly recommended you try the Stewards of Children training from the organization Darkness to Light. You will learn how to recognize and how to respond to child sexual abuse in the children you work with.

These are just some ways to get out there and do something! If you know of more, please feel free to email me at annaleigh@aswaterspassingby.org or aswaterspassingby@gmail.com.

As Waters Passing By > Volunteering, Fundraising, and Donation Opportunities