My Nonprofit Reviews

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

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