Last Chance to Give in 2013

We at the Center Against Domestic Violence wish you all the best for a safe and violence-free 2014!

We know from your past support that you care about ending domestic violence, teen dating abuse and bullying.  That’s why we're reminding you that your final chance to make a tax deductible donation for 2013 is fast approaching.

Remember, all gifts to the Center Against Domestic Violence are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Thanks to your donations to the Center, a thousand women and children found safety in our shelters this year, and another 30,000 high school and intermediate school students learned how to have healthy relationships and how to end bullying and abuse.  The Center has been working hard to end abuse since 1976, but we need your help to support thousands of women, men, children and teens to live healthy, happy lives unthreatened by violence.

I hope you’ll join us as we prepare for another year of life saving and life changing services.  If you have already made your year end gift, thank you.  If you haven't donated yet, please click here to donate.

Thank you for all you do to end violence in relationships.

 

Happy new year!



Help us ring in 2014 - Give the Gift of Safety to survivors as they rebuild their lives in the new year.

Happy Holidays from our RAPP Peer Leaders

Thank you for being our ally. Your donations keep our Relationship Abuse Prevention Program running.

We wish you happiness and health.

Denim Day, April 2013

Denim Day, April 2013

 

 Save RAPP Rally, May 2013

 

 RAPP Peer Leader Picnic, June 2013

 

 Shine the Light to End Domestic Violence March, October 2013

 

CADV Fall Breakfast, October 2013

 

Happy Holidays!

 

--CADV RAPP Peer Leaders, 2013-2014

 

 

Support RAPP -- Give the Gift of Safety from dating abuse and bullying to NYC teens.



In 2013, With Your Help, We...

• Trained 267 RAPP peer leaders on teen relationship abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and bullying, equipping them with skills and information to become leaders in eliminating abuse at their schools.

• Counseled 1,160 intermediate and high school students experiencing dating violence, bullying, or other issues.

• Taught 30,000 NYC public school students how to have healthy relationships and end bullying and abuse.

• Sheltered over 1,000 domestic violence survivors and their children, providing these families with a safe place to learn to break the cycle of violence and start life anew.

• Hosted over 40 survivors each week at our Spanish speaking and English speaking support groups.

• Provided counseling, advocacy, and referrals to 3,000 domestic violence survivors in the NYC community.

• Provided emergency assistance to over 813 survivors making it on their own in the community.

 

On behalf of the Center's residents, students, staff, and board -- Thank You. We couldn't have done it without you. 

 

 

Support our lifesaving programs - Give the Gift of Safety to thousands more in the upcoming year.

Help Survivors Feel Joy Again

Last Christmas I was delighted to receive this thank you letter.

Our staff strives each and every day to make sure this story is not unique - that it’s the story everyone leaving our shelters can tell. All of our work is made possible by people like you who choose each year support the Center so that domestic violence survivors like this family can feel joy again.  

Here is Ms. M.’s letter –

“I would like to thank all of you.  “Unfortunately my family has been to a lot of domestic violence shelters since 2005.  We honestly were not happy to return this time.  But the day when we walked through these doors, my children and I cried tears of relief and joy.  We actually were in a place that was immaculate.  We couldn’t believe this was a shelter!  And the kids were overjoyed they had TV to watch.  Until today, when we are days away from opening a new door to a place called home, we are thankful for Women’s Second Start.

“I realize - wow, this place is heaven-sent, with real angels!  All of you have opened your hearts and cared unconditionally for each of us.  There has never been a time when anyone has closed a door or refused to help us.  This truly has been a great experience for me and my children.

“I was very worried about Christmas since I had hardly any money and I couldn’t buy my kids gifts.  On Christmas Eve, my son Wilfredo told me, ‘Mommy, this has been the best Christmas ever!’  I almost fell to the floor! Could this be my Mr. Materialistic-Thirteen-Year-Old - the boy with so much anger from witnessing too much?  Thank you all so very much for putting joy back in our lives!”  From Ms. M. for Tiffany, David and Wilfredo

The shelter Ms. M., Tiffany, David and Wilfredo walked into, Women’s Second Start, is located in Northern Manhattan.  Every year, the individualized services provided by Women’s Second Start give more than a hundred women and three hundred children the tools they need to break the pattern of domestic violence and start life anew – with joy. 

As the year draws to a close, we're asking you to support the Center Against Domestic Violence fulfill it's mission - ending violence in our communities.  We know you want to live in the same world as us, where children grow up in positive environments and gender-based violence is non-existant.  Your support of the Center brings us closer to that shared vision; please consider making a donation today.

Thank you and Happy Holidays,

Judith Kahan,

Chief Executive Officer

Support our shelters - Give the Gift of Safety to families fleeing domestic violence.

Four Unique Ways to Support the Center

Run the NYC Half Marathon

Join the CADV team and fundraise to support our survivor advocacy and community outreach program. More Info.

 

 

Bike the TD Five Boro Bike Tour

 

As a CADV Bike Team Member, you will raise money to support our services and allow us to pilot new programs. More Info.

 

 

 

 

Attend our Spring Gala 

 

Save the Date - April 10th, 2014. More Info.

 

 

 

Ask your Workplace to Match a Gift

 

Many corporations and foundations will match or double your personal donation. Some will even match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses. Contact your Human Resources Department about the matching gift policy at your workplace.

 

Mail your completed matching gift form to the Center Against Domestic Violence at 25 Chapel Street, Suite 904, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Email an online form to 

MSangiolo@CenterAgainstDV.org. We will do the rest!

 

To double your year-end donation to the Center, please DONATE NOW and check “My employer has a matching gift program.”

The Most Important Gift you can Give this Holiday Season

Give to safeguard families fleeing domestic violence.   Give to free our communities of relationship abuse and bullying. Give the Gift of Safety

For more than 35 years, the Center Against Domestic Violence has been working toward a society free from violence by transforming the lives of victims and raising awareness in our communities. Thank you for helping us end domestic violence. Donate

Join the Global Movement - Today is Giving Tuesday

Support NYC Youth Today

 

Donate

 

 

 

Give a life free from relationship violence for teens across New York City! All our children deserve a safe future to reach their highest potential. Support Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program - RAPP - a proven violence prevention program reaching almost 50,000 New York City teens each year.

 

Donate

 

A Teachable Moment This Thanksgiving

The Center Against Domestic Violence believes that violence is a learned response that can be stopped with early education.  One skill we teach students from third grade on up is how to be responsible bystanders.  A bystander is someone who is present at an event, but not involved, like a witness.  A responsible bystander knows what behavior is OK and what is not OK and is empowered to speak up or get help.  Young people armed with the tools to help their friends or acquaintances are less likely to become bullies, abusers or victims.  

This month has seen a sharp increase in conversations about bullying among the most unlikely group of people – young men between 18 and 30.  Why?  Because Miami Dolphin Offensive Tackle Jonathan Martin left the team after his teammate Richie Incognito sent him threatening texts and emails.  Exposing this behavior has made big news.  Everyone has an opinion: that a 312 pound football player should have stood up for himself; that the team should have stood up for Martin; that Incognito’s threatening was just kidding and regular locker room horseplay; that Martin should get tougher; or that Incognito should never have made threats and racial slurs.  

Martin could not have been new to locker room jests; he has been playing great football since he was a child and he was regarded as the No. 3 tackle prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft.  At Stanford he was All Pacific-10 and an All American pick who earned All-American honors.  He knew about and understood locker room hijinks – and when someone was kidding or not.

I doubt that Martin was new to racial slurs, having grown up in a world where, unlike sports, African-Americans were a distinct minority.  He was the first person in three generations of his family not to attend Harvard; he was prep school educated and majored in Classics at Stanford.  He knew about racial stereotyping and whether someone was kidding or not.

So, all that and Incognito’s shocking and obscene texts and clips that have become public knowledge aside, what can we learn from this incident, which is just being investigated by the National Football League this week?

• We can learn about the power of the bystander.  If the Dolphins had said, “Hey, cut it out, that’s not OK,” chances are Martin’s hazing would have taken on a different character. Incognito is scary, but so is a locker room full of gridiron warriors.
• We can learn about asserting ourselves.  This is not the only instance of workplace bullying, just one with immensely larger characters.  Bullying in the workplace needs to be reported before it can be stopped. 
• Finally, if you listen to all the talk about how Martin should have “manned up,” we can learn how far we have to go to eradicate gender stereotypes.  Gender stereotypes hurt us all. 

This is a supremely teachable moment.  Take time around the Thanksgiving table to ask what people think about the Incognito/Martin situation and how situations like this should be handled in sports, in the workplace, in life. 

Best wishes for a great holiday from the Center Against Domestic Violence.  We are thankful for your support.

A Search for True Love

We closed Domestic Violence Awareness Month with Women’s Second Start domestic violence shelter celebrating the survivors they have served, and acknowledging staff and volunteers at a conference with former residents as the keynote speakers.  Here are some excerpts from one survivor's poem:

A Search for True Love

What is true love?

. . . Violence? Verbal Abuse? Physical and Mental Abuse? 

Having your self esteem . . . brought to nothing?

And then later on hearing the words, “Am sorry.” “I didn’t mean it.” “It won’t happen again.”

"Baby you know I love you."

Where do we find . . . true love?

. . . Our friends?  Family? Spouse?

And our abuser?

We may think that’s where true love is.

How do we find . . . true love?

. . . By first sitting down and evaluating ourselves.

Then we can stand strong and say, “I’m beautiful and I deserve better for myself.”

A Breakfast Conversation with Emily Bazelon

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our Fall Breakfast 2013. Your contributions support the Center’s life changing work. It was a great morning and we hope to see you again soon! 

Missed the Breakfast?

Listen to the audio recording here.

Click here for more pictures.

Special Thanks

Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones and senior editor at Slate, for engaging us with her important research and conclusions;

Dr. Liz Lasky, Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) Coordinator for the Center, for leading the poignant disussion;

Devon Arnold, RAPP Peer Leader, for bravely sharing his story about how RAPP helped him overcome years of bullying;

Andrea Cruz and Amber Perez, RAPP Graduates and Stuckey Scholarship Winners, for inspiring the entire room.

Shine the Light on Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.The Center Against Domestic Violence was once again a sponsor of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s impressive October 7 rally and light show, Shine the Light on Domestic Violence.

Times Square is sometimes called the crossroads of the world; what better place to light up some of the largest and brightest digital screens to bring awareness to domestic violence?

By turning landmarks around the city and state purple, Shine the Light on Domestic Violence, a statewide public awareness campaign, sparks discussion about this devastating problem that threatens the safety of too many New Yorkers.

Center staff, volunteers, and adult and teen participants stood shoulder to shoulder with other advocates as giant electronic billboards turned purple with messages of hope.  American Eagle, the Disney Store, the ABC Super Sign and many more told viewers about domestic violence, its impact and how to get help. Commissioner Yolanda Jimenez, the head of the NYC Office to Combat Domestic Violence, and playwright Eve Ensler spoke.

Click here for more photos.

Happy Anniversary, VAWA!

Vice President Joe Biden touted the success of the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act at an event celebrating its 19th anniversary on Thursday.

Biden said it's been "absolutely fascinating to see the ripple effect of this little old act we passed 19 years ago," to supporters, saying he's had the privilege of seeing the impact VAWA has had on other nations during his travels as vice president.

Meet Author Emily Bazelon - October 18th

Fall is a time for beginnings.  It’s back to school time for the Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP), for Relationships are Elementary and for the 150 children in Center Against Domestic Violence shelters.  These programs can transform children and teens from victims to survivors to peer advocates; they teach young people skills to stand against bullying and teen relationship abuse by becoming responsible bystanders.

Two years ago, the Center’s Fall Breakfast at the Harvard Club looked at Bullying in the 21st Century.  We hosted a panel that included a RAPP social worker, a DA at the intersection of cyber-crimes and harassment, a survivor whose landmark case forced Google to release her harasser’s email address; a human rights advocate; and an intermediate school principal.  Everyone at the table agreed that bullying took a great toll on bystanders, and saw these witnesses as key to stopping bullying.  Acting to end the abuse they witnessed stopped bystanders from feeling powerless and ended their own victimization.

This fall we are taking a look at bullying through yet another lens.  On October 18 we will host a breakfast conversation with Slate senior editor and New York Times Magazine contributor Emily Bazelon.  Her highly acclaimed book, “Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy” explores teen bullying, what it is and what it isn’t, and how the rise of the Internet and social media make the experience more challenging.   She charts the experiences of bullied children and describes successful anti-bullying measures.  In “Sticks and Stones” Ms. Bazelon, a lawyer who is a Senior Research Scholar and Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School, reviews jurisprudence on bullying, and examines both the virtues and the pitfalls of treating bullying as a crime.  “Sticks and Stones” describes what parents can achieve, what schools can achieve, and what may come of the shifting power differential among parents, schools and social agencies.   She will be in conversation with a Center RAPP Coordinator, a veteran social worker stationed on a high school campus to  teach teens how to have healthy relationships.

Please join us on October 18 at the Harvard Club of NYC for breakfast and great conversation.  Purchase tickets here.

Thanks, Operation Backpack!

This week the children in the Center's emergency domestic violence shelters returned to school.  One of the consequences of homelessnes, especially homelessness caused by family violence, is the disruption of a child's education.  These children need school supplies for the upcoming year.

For over a decade, Volunteers of America's Operation Backpack has collected and distributed school supplies to these, the City's most vulnerable children.


Here at the Center, 165 children and teens received full backpacks and a big dose of confidence for their return to school.

Thank you!

Back to School

As the days shorten and the temperature drops, school days begin again.  Roads and subways are full of students and teachers.  Staples ads proclaim this “the most wonderful time of the year” - - for parents.

School is not always the safest place for a student to be.  In New York City high schools and intermediate schools, over a quarter of teen girls will be harassed, or bullied, or threatened by their dating partners.  Many thanks to the Center’s supporters and to the members of New York’s City Council that the Teen RAPP Adopt a School program will be going back to school this fall.  With workshops, counseling and leadership development, the Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program stops bullying and dating violence.  It works from the inside out to create schools with no tolerance for abuse.

Return to school poses extra challenges for the 150 children in the Center’s  three domestic violence emergency shelters.  Many children who witness violence at home perform badly in school; while they are away from home they worry about what’s going on and cannot concentrate.  While other young children attend school and learn to break the code for reading and arithmetic success, young children of domestic violence victims are often kept at home for protection.  At the shelters, we offer after school homework help with nutritious snacks and tutoring. You can give a young student the gift of school supplies by donating here.

Without intervention, young children who have witnessed domestic violence are two times as likely to become abusers or victims.  With your support, the Center Against Domestic Violence is building a more peaceful world – one child at a time.

Join the Center's Marathon Team

The Center is looking for runners for our 2013 ING NYC Marathon team

Receive a guaranteed spot for the marathon in exchange for fundraising on behalf of CADV and the families we serve. We assist with training and fundraising. Runners of all levels welcome!

For more than 35 years, CADV has been working towards a society free from violence by transforming the lives of victims and raising awareness in our communities.  CADV’s emergency shelters, non residential support groups, and school based teen dating violence prevention and intervention program (RAPP) help tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

Email Magdalen at MSangiolo@CenterAgainstDV.org to get involved!

Click here for more information.

Facebook's Role in Perpetuating Domestic Violence

With over two billion users worldwide, Facebook wields more cultural influence than most governments.  How then did it respond when activists called Facebook to task for hate speech and misogynist images?

Even though Facebook has a system for identifying and removing hate speech until early this month language and imagery that glorifies violence against women were not removed.

What made the difference?  You and I made the difference – with over 5000 emails to Facebook advertisers, more than 60,000 Twitter posts and 224,000 signatures on a Change.org petition.

In response to the public outcry against posts that said things like “Don’t wrap it and tap it – Rape it and Tape it!” fifteen advertisers pulled their support from the ubiquitous social media site.  Facebook has promised to review and update the guidelines regarding hate speech on the site, and plans to increase the accountability of users who post hateful content.

More and more, online behavior influences behavior in the real world.  The Center Against Domestic Violence is dedicated to cultivating a society free from violence and abuse.  We drive cultural change through education and intervention.  Through our Relationship Abuse Prevention Program on fifteen campuses throughout New York City, the Center teaches 27,000 teens to be pro-social online and in the real world.

Our groundbreaking programs teach young people how to identify and avoid abuse so that they can develop healthy relationships.  The Center has added new units that address online behavior to our acclaimed Speak your Peace (intermediate school) and Pride Education Equality Respect – PEER (high school) curricula.  The acceptance of violence, gender inequality, harassment, and bullying, are not new – only the venue is new.  As citizens, parents, and activists, we need to condemn violence and create positive environments in both places.

The Center’s Relationship Abuse Prevention Program is a public/private partnership that depends on your contributions and your advocacy to continue.  Relationships are Elementary, the Center’s pilot program to teach elementary school students about healthy relationships, is completely funded by your contributions.

Together we can make this a safer world for ourselves and our children.

Funding for RAPP Will End in July - We Must Again SAVE RAPP

Mayor Bloomberg has eliminated Teen RAPP! (Relationship Abuse Prevention Program) from his preliminary budget for the next fiscal year. If RAPP’s funding is not restored, this highly successful and cost-effective relationship violence prevention and anti-bullying program—reaching over 40,000 public middle and high school students—will cease to exist in July.

Therefore, once again we must mobilize our supporters—RAPP students, teachers, principals, parents, social service providers, interested citizens—to join in our effort. We must send a clear message to the Mayor and City Council that RAPP works—and that they must restore the $3 million in funding that will allow Teen RAPP to continue to provide information and tools to help current and future generations of NYC youth break dangerous cycles of violence.

With your help over the past two years, we have been extremely successful in gaining the support of our local Councilmembers—resulting in the reinstatement of funding for Teen RAPP. We urge you to please join with us again by logging on to www.SaveTeenRAPP.org where you can instantly send a letter to the Mayor, City Council Speaker and your local elected officials.

Thank you in advance. Together we can save Teen RAPP!

International Women's Day - Stop the Violence

Today marks International Women’s Day, the 102nd anniversary of this special day when the world over honors the political, economic and social achievements of women and renew its commitment to improving the lives of all women.

There is much to celebrate.  A century ago it was almost unheard of for a woman to own a business or become a professional.  A woman’s place was in the home or in the sweatshop.  Women in the United States had no vote.  Their property belonged to their husbands.  Now we are closer to gender equality than ever.  And, after a long struggle, we celebrate the President signing the Violence Against Women Act into law yesterday.

This year the United Nations has chosen “A Promise is a Promise:  A Time for Action to End Violence Against Women” as the theme for International Women’s Day.  Judith Kahan, CEO of the Center Against Domestic Violence said, “This is a day of great significance across the globe.  The work of the Center Against Domestic Violence began a deep commitment to improving the quality of women’s lives.  We join our allies around the world to celebrate women and rededicate our efforts to ending violence.” 

Violence against women is a global crisis that threatens women globally, regardless of country, economic status, ethnicity or age.  Here in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control found that one in five US women have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. The CDC estimates that domestic violence costs the US over $8.3 billion a year in medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity.  Last year, here in New York City, Police responded to 263,207 domestic violence incidents and City’s Domestic Violence Hotline advocates answered 108,131 calls; that’s more than 1,000 cries for help every day.

For more than 35 years, the Center Against Domestic Violence has been working toward a society free from violence by transforming the lives of victims and raising awareness in our communities.  CADV opened the first publicly-funded shelter in New York State and now operates three full-service shelters for victims and their children, offering childcare, job assistance, housing placement, counseling and other crucial services. Our groundbreaking education programs teach more than 27,000 young people each year how to prevent domestic violence and have healthy relationships. We also provide ongoing support for shelter residents, victim advocacy, and community outreach as part of our efforts to eliminate domestic violence.

Violence against women needs to end worldwide. The Center Against Domestic Violence is proud to be a local leader working to end violence against women.

CADV is 2012 V-Day Beneficiary

For the second year in a row, the Fourth Universalist Church on the Upper West Side has chosen CADV as their V-Day beneficiary. V-day is a worldwide movement to end violence against women and girls. Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities.  Join us and the Fourth Universalist Church this year in two special events to prevent violence.

The Fourth Universalist Church will hold a cocktail party on February 13th featuring guest speaker Judy Norsigian, – a founding member of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, an organization best known for their perennial book, Our Bodies Our Selves.  Judy is an internationally recognized activist for Women’s Health Issues including reproductive freedom, midwifery, and sexually transmitted infections. The night begins at 6PM – there is no cover charge and there will be free hors d’ouevres!

Fourth Universalist Church
160 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
Please RSVP here or contact Erica at ERotman@centeragainstdv.org for more details.

V-day celebrations will continue on March 23rd and 24th when the award-winning Vagina Monologues play will be performed at the Church.  Join us for a night of laughter, tears, and solidarity in the fight to end violence against women. While there are over 40 V-day events and performances this year in New York City, this is the only one to take place in a religious space.  Again, the Church’s address is 160 Central Park West  New York, NY 10023.

Please click here for tickets. This is an absolute don’t miss production!!