My Nonprofit Reviews

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!

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