V-Day

Eve Ensler has mobilized support around the world through its One Billion Rising campaign most recently to raise awareness and end violence against women and girls through V-Day. The organization deserves every distinction and award for the work it is doing in the Congo alone

V-Day is an amazing movement that inspires people all over the world. I was able to participate in V-Day this year in Sacramento and see the Vagina Monologues. There I encountered a group of amazing and passionate women dedicated to ending violence. What a wonderful group and a wonderful cause.

On opening night of "The Vagina Monologues," a woman approached me. Surrounded by t-shirts bearing testimony to survivors and victims of violence, she told me: "Thank you so much for doing this. I've been a advocate for survivors for years and I am always touched seeing what you put on. I will always come here every year." Her remarks, and many others, illustrate the ever expanding reach of V-Day. While powerful in itself, V-Day also invites creativity to its campaign. Every year we put on a variety of different events to raise awareness and money for our local Rape Recovery Center. All of this is in conjunction with "The Vagina Monologes." I am sure I am not alone in saying my experiences with V-Day will continue to inspire and strengthen me throughout my life.

I was first introduced to V-Day in 1999 when I performed in the first ever production of The Vagina Monologues at Georgetown University. This experience moved me in unexpected ways - as a survivor of sexual violence I began a long overdue healong process; as a college student I changed my major from Nursing to Women's Studies and ended up writing my senior thesis on TVM; and I became more aware of myself as a global citizen. I continued to volunteer with V-Day for the next 3 years of college and resumed my relationship with the organization during the 10th Anniversary celebration in New Orleans. My mother, sister and good friend accompanied me to this event, which made it even more amazing. That fall while in graduate school I committed to organizing V-Day events at San Diego State University and was once again reminded that V-Day is a tremendous asset to the global campaign to end violence against women. I remain impressed that with a small staff V-Day is able to hold workshops for volunteers, coordinate new productions , raise millions of dollars and stage new spotlight campaigns each year. As an instructor at SDSU I was able to use the Congo Teach-In multiple times on campus and helped an undergraduate student begin a chapter of STAND. My awareness of the atrocities in the DRC was enhanced by the information provided by V-Day through the teach-in, the website and a workshop with Eve Ensler in L.A. so I could pass along what I learned to my students and other members of the community. I will continue to support V-Day and its mission for as long as I am able and encourage others to do the same. A final story is worth mentioning to highlight the dedication of the V-Day staff. My support of V-Day is no surprise to my friends and family and in 2007 my fiance found a publisher's proof of The Vagina Monologue to give me as a Christmas gift. He thought an autograph from Eve Ensler would make the text even better so he contacted the generic V-Day email to see if this would be possible. He immediately heard back from Kate Fisher, Communications and Campaigns Manager, who let him know that Eve was in and out of town for the next month or so, but if he mailed the copy of the book to her she would do everything she could to get it signed. When it looked like the autograph would not happen, Kate sent the book back to make sure that he had it to give to me on the holiday. Just before Christmas, however, he got another email from Kate saying that Eve would in fact be in the office for a very short time and could he send the book back. He FedExed the book, it was signed and sent back in time for Christmas. This is an example of the kind of dedication one can expect from the V-Day organization. This request could easily have been ignored, but Kate went above and beyond any expectation. If this is the type of care the V-Day staff takes with an autograph request, imagine what they are doing to end violence against women!

Statistics for sexual assault - as well as the results of - are horrifying to say the least and, at the same time, it often feels like no one cares. I feel that people should be screaming down the street, throwing tantrums in stores and stopping traffic. Men, women and children everywhere should be stopping their lives to not just take notice, but to take action. V-Day is one of the only organizations that isn't just reacting to the facts, we are actively trying to change them. Training at other centers focuses on dealing with the after affects of sexual assault, whereas V-Day is a grassroots movement aiming toward community organization and unification to stop sexual assault from occurring in the first place. They encourage and try to cultivate leadership and ownership of one's own voice and intuition via numerous avenues including theater, film, and most importantly, open and honest communication. They provide training, have high level executives communicating directly with grassroots organizers, and encourage positive individual futures while still knitting a powerful, forward-thinking community.

The organization V-Day haves one of the best website there is to visit related to women issues, with a lot traffic. They have great information and the web it's beautifully designed I have to point out, after studying many sites for a theses of ciberfeminism. The people on these organization, really help women also with the detail they put on the way they communicate.

Being part of the V-Day movement for me is a priviledge and a cause very dear to my heart. V-Day brings the issues of violence against women and young girls up front and center, not only nationally but internationally. It is because of wonderful organizations like V-Day that we now truly know the atrocities that women from around the world suffer every day. The hardships of women and young girls from Iraq, to Afghanistan…to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico…to the Democratic Republic of Congo affect us all…our families, our children and our overall communities. Violence against women should be as important as any other issue that is troubling the world today. V-Day is an organization that we absolutely need in order to continue to raise awareness about violence against women and young girls locally, nationally and worldwide. On a personal level, V-Day single handedly changed my life back in 2006 and continues to do so up to this day. V-Day has taught me that women need to stand by women and that men can stand by women as allies and that together we can change the story of women. From performing, to directing and organizing The Vagina Monologues; it has helped me and given me the opportunity and the power to raise my voice…to reach within myself and stand tall and be heard. V-Day has not only helped me become a better woman, but has opened the lines of communication within my own family. Being able to openly talk to my conservative parents about what V-Day stands for - has become a life changing experience. V-Day has brought many beautiful, strong and wonderful women into my life who I now call my V-Sisters. My life will never be the same because I have crossed paths with them and I have V-Day and Eve Ensler to thank. V-Day is and will always be a part of my life. Viva la Vagina!

I am the administrator of the Facebook cause, "Choices For Panzi Hospital In The Democratic Republic Of Congo," and V-Day is our choice beneficiary to end violence against women. I trust V-Day because it is there, with the women in need. V-Day tells the whole story with sheer honesty. This is the most effective approach to getting political & cultural attention to raise awareness & making meaningful change. V-Day is changing the world.

It's difficult to describe how moving and impressive this organization is. I haven't had the opportunity to dive into as much as I'd like. However, participating in the The Vagina Monologues v-day performances has given me the chance to enrich the lives on my college campus. It's a show that gives women confidence and confronts our embedded societal fears. It empowers women to take ownership of oneself while trying to remove the "woman stigmas" still left in the world. Finally, every show gives a sense of global awareness causing donors to fight the war again women not just on the home front but internationally as well. I am so proud to have found this organization and look forward to participating in V-Girls when I learn more about it and how to get involved.

I was first introduced to V-Day in 2004 when I was invited by a friend to see her perform onstage. I witnessed a group of women sharing stories of other women around the world. These were stories of rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, oppression, hatred, servitud, as well as ingenuity, transformation, strength, empowerment, resilience, passion, love... I remember laughing and crying as I took in all for a little over an hour. The message was clear and powerful as these stories were shared. I decided that I wanted to share this message in my community. As a Latina, I knew I had to share it in my Latino community to raise much needed awareness in order to break the silence. Six years later I am still involved in this extraordinary cause along many others in my community. All this, thanks to the vision of one extraordinarily committed woman, Eve Ensler, and her dedicated team. The journey I have taken has changed my existence as a woman and as a human being and has allowed me the opportunity to work with other volunteers and witness their transformation as well. We've done this one person at a time. Empowered by the awareness that has been brought into our lives and that now we go on to bring upon many in the community. We've learned to share a passion through our voices and collective efforts. We have joyfully spent many hours doing volunteer work to raise funds and have seen the impact it has had on the population we committedly strive to support. The funds we've generated have allowed for the continuation of much needed services in our community, e.g., at a local domestic violence and sexual assault shelter. We've seen how individual's in need that have benefited, have been supported in their efforts to break the cycle of violence. This help may include helpipng someone acquire sustainable housing by helping them pay move-in costs. As part of a community involved with such an amazing organization as V-Day, we have strengthened many bonds as individuals and have put forth the effort to reach incredible goals to help social service agencies in our community. Furthermore, we have witnessed many in a crowd impacted by the awareness raised. And their moving words have let us know that they had been touched by the work of V-Day. The effort of V-Day continues to be multiplied worldwide and I am proud to say that I am part of that effort on a local and worldwide basis and continue to see the growing involvement of others in my community. I continue to see the lives that are touched of the volunteers themselves as they gain personal growth, hence creating in them the passion to work for such an important cause. In closing, I treasure the fact that I am part of a local and worldwide movement and have successfully joined efforts to stand up against the oppression and violence generated against women and girls locally and worldwide in an effort to end the atrocities and crime and help those in need follow a path of healing. Thank you, V-Day. Thank you for making a difference in my life and the lives of millions in the U.S. and around the world. Thank you for helping a woman in my city free herself from domestic violence and recover from rape and incest while helping a young girl in Africa be saved from Female Genital Mutilation or a group of women in the Congo recover physically and emotionally from multiple rapes suffered as a result of the war, to name a few. My heart is humbled at the opportunity to work with such an empowering and effective organization as V-Day. Thank you, again, for the opportunity. Cynthia Trejo

it happened that the play we put on was not the vagina monologues but we had a congo teach-in in conjunction with the play and people learned about v-day. to be honest, i got too emotional when speaking about what the women in the DRC are facing each day. this prevented me from drilling home the issue---- although i did have lots of literature around which stated clearly the horrors that women and girls face. v-day org. has alot of materials that can be quite useful when you are putting on any kind of event for the public. even when you think that everyone must already know what's happening to women and girls, you'd be surprised! this is a subject that no one wants to speak about and thus it continues. eve ensler has been the brave soul who has "opened this can of worms" and now many more women are speaking up......that's all it will take - we cannot be silent about this issue - no matter how much of a bringdown the truth is.

I've particioated in VDAY for 2 years now, in 2 different countires and I've had a wonderfully rewarding experience each time. I look forward to working with VSAY again in years to come in an effort not only to raise awarness of the strifes of women throughout the world, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) to nurture other women and watch them as we all grow together from our experiences in VDAY!!

I believed as a passionate, emotive dancer and actor that I was comfortable with my body and the empowerment of women in general. However, after being involved with the V-Day Movement through performing The Vagina Monologues, I discovered the negativity and shame that my strict born-again Christian mother had given me. I had men and women of 70 years old in the audience who were stating,'It is good to talk about this kind of thing.' I had a formal cast member talk openly about her body for the first time in her life; I empowered teenage girls, old women and men to be open and to honour and respect women through the use of the script and talk held by the manager of the Lanarkshire Rape Crisis Centre.

I love VDAY. The tools and resources they give as well as the entire mission of ending violence against women and girls helps me make my community a better place while also helping women across the globe have a better life. The ability to produce plays and other works by Eve Ensler is a great tool in opening up a dialogue about topics that women need to discuss with everyone in their community while also helping raise money and awareness for both our own local non-profit and for VDAY at large who contributes money and services to women in need all over the world.

I have worked with several nonprofit organizations and I can say that my volunteer experience with V-Day has been the most satisfying and is the experience I feel has allowed me to make the biggest impact on my community. The model of having the productions be totally community organized with a lot of support from V-Day allows volunteers to experience really deep and meaningful community organizing without feeling totally overwhelmed. I think that the focus on benefiting one's community also allows for so much more ownership and a more positive, connected experience for the participants. Finally, I believe that V-Day's programs are incredibly effective. My event raised $4,500 for a local rape crisis center, and I know that seeing the production has educated so many and changed perspectives -- my own fiance is a perfect example! In 2009, he was very reluctant to see the show, thinking that he would be the only man there and that it would make him uncomfortable. After seeing it, in 2010 he was one of our most supportive volunteers and was envangalizing about how important this piece is for men to see! Overall, great experience for volunteers and audience alike, and very effective at fulfilling the organization's mission.