Giving Tuesday 2014

#GivingTuesday is almost here! Tomorrow, on Tuesday December 2nd, the Center Against Domestic Violence will be participating in Giving Tuesday. Please show support on this generous day! The holidays can be are a hard time, but it is always difficult for families dealing with the trauma of domestic violence and the hardship of starting a new life. Please donate funds for gift cards so parents we shelter can purchase holiday presents for their children.   We're asking you to help ease the financial burden of buying gifts so that survivors of domestic violence can celebrate this December!

Visions & Voices, Off Broadway - This Weekend!

The Caring Committee of EILEEN FISHER presents a benefit to raise funds for the Center Against Domestic Violence and AutismSpeaks.org: 

Purchase Tickets.

All proceeds benefit the Center Against Domestic Violence and AutismSpeaks.org.

Visions & Voices, Off Broadway

November 1st, 2014

Irvington Town Hall Theatre 

85 Main St., Irvington, NY

Thank you for your support!

Tickets Still Available - Join Us!

We still have a few tickets left for our breakfast on October 23rd.

The panel will address domestic violence and how the Center and others utilize the arts to help survivors heal.

Please join us to learn about domestic violence so you can help raise awarness about this critical issue that affects one out of four women.

Click Here to purchase tickets. 

Click Here to learn more about the breakfast.

Click Here to read more about our panelists.

The ticket includes a buffet breakfast and general seating access to the panel discussion. All proceeds from ticket sales support the Center's life saving work. We hope to see you there - get your ticket today!

Help Raise Awareness for Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One out of four women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime, making it an issue we desperately need to talk about and work to end. 

Our October Breakfast, Transforming Lives Through the Arts, will address domestic violence and how the Center and others utilize the arts to help survivors heal. 

Please join us on October 23rd to learn about domestic violence and help us educate others. 

We hope to see you there. 

Click Here to learn more about the breakfast.

Click Here to read more about our panelists. 

Click Here to purchase tickets.

October Breakfast Artist: Jovan Martinez

We are honored to have Jovan Martinez speak and perform at our October Breakfast! Jovan is a poet and former Relationship Abuse Prevention Program peer leader. Jovan won the 2012 Rap 4 RAPP contest to raise awareness about our Teen RAPP program.

Come see Jovan at Transforming Lives Through the Arts!

In the meantime, watch her winning Rap 4 RAPP:

October Breakfast Artist & Panelist: Ewa Grochowska

We're very grateful to have Ewa Grochowska participating in our October breakfast! Ewa will be featured on our panel and her pottery will also be on display.

A potter, sculptor, and domestic violence awareness activist, Ewa is committed to helping others achieve a life free from abuse. Her organization, Freedom4Ewa, donates time and supplies to children living in domestic violence shelters. Proceeds from her pottery support these endeavors.

Ewa says,

"Creating art allows children to express their emotions in a positive way. It gives them control of something in their life, and it gives them something to be proud of." 

Come learn about Ewa's work and see her beauitful pieces at Transforming Lives Through the Arts!

Click here to learn more about Ewa. 

October Breakfast Artist: Sue Rock Originals

We're thrilled to have Sue Rock Originals at our October Breakfast! Sue Rock Originals will display textile arts and photos of Center participants.

Sue Rock Originals provides sewing and textile arts workshops for the survivors in the Center's Spanish Speaking Support Group. Sue explains,

"Women come to our textile arts studio and learn to sew, knit, embroider, crochet, and create their own clothing. The women obtain wonderful skills, but more importantly, a sense of hope."

Come see Sue Rock Originals' textile arts at Transforming Lives Through the Arts!

Read more about Sue Rock Originals here.

Last Chance for Early Bird Tickets - October Breakfsat

We have a limited number of Early Bird Tickets available through this Tuesday, September 23rd. 

The ticket includes a buffet breakfast and general seating access to the panel discussion. All proceeds from ticket sales support the Center's life saving work. We hope to see you there - get your ticket today!

Click Here to purchase tickets. 

Click Here to learn more about the breakfast.

Meet the Panelists of Transforming Lives Through the Arts

On Thursday, October 23rd, the Center will host its annual Domestic Violence Awareness breakfast. We're excited to welcome a diverse group of panelists who will discuss art's healing power for domestic violence survivors. Here's an introduction to our expert and inspiring panelists:

• Marcella Goheen wrote and starred in The Maria Project, an acclaimed, one woman, Off-Broadway play that tells the story of Maria Salazar, Goheen’s grandmother who was murdered by her grandfather. Ms. Goheen has since founded the Brooklyn-based Maria Project, whose mission is to dispel the myth, create awareness, and alleviate the shame around domestic violence and sexual assault. The Maria Project’s “Maria’s Voice Featuring Savion Glover” will begin its North America tour in October 2014.
   
• Ewa Grochowska is a potter/sculptor and domestic violence awareness activist, helping other survivors along their journey to build a life free from abuse. To accomplish this, she donates her time and supplies to provide art programs to children living in domestic violence shelters.
   
• Rachel Hass is a Licensed Social Worker and Play Group Therapist at Bank Street College of Education for the Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice, where she facilitates trauma-based interventions for children, teachers and families in early childhood centers throughout the city. Hass previously facilitated the Art Enrichment Program at the Center Against Domestic Violence.
   
• Earla Lloyd, LCSW, is Director at the Center’s Women’s Second Start shelter. Lloyd developed the shelter’s ExpressIt and Creative Movement program to help her residents heal from domestic violence and other traumas. The program has two components: ExpressIt movement pieces performed for shelter residents by staff and Creative Movement expressive sessions for shelter residents. Lloyd believes that movement is a key communication tool and a catalyst for healing.
   
• Terri Muuss (moderator)  is an actor, director, teacher, motivational speaker, life coach and social worker who specializes in the use of the arts as a healing mechanism for trauma survivors. She teaches a course at Rutgers University to social workers entitled Youth Development Through the Written Arts and her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Her poetic memoir Over Exposed (JB Stillwater, 2013) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and her one-woman show Anatomy of a Doll  was named the “Best Theatre: Critics’ Pick of the Week” by the New York Daily News and has been performed throughout the US and Canada since 1998. www.terrimuuss.com

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the breakfast.


We hope to see you there!

Tickets Now On Sale

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available through September 23rd.

Click here to purchase tickets, 10 seat tables, or become a sponsor. 

Learn more about our event and panelists.

We hope to see you there!

Save the Date - More Info to Come!

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.”

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.