The OBRFW Dancers (aka the Empowerment Flash Mob Crew) and some of the event volunteers got together last night to reconnect, to celebrate a bit – and also to dream about the future.  Lots of great idea were thrown on the table, so we have lots of sorting out to do.

Two things are for sure …

1. There will be more to come as we continue to work with our local organizations to address the issue of violence against women and girls (and men, too) here in our community.
2. It is highly likely that dancing will be involved (why wouldn’t there be dancing?).

Stay tuned to see what happens next!  Or message us at our Facebook page if you’d like to join in!

So, at Parkview Field, nearly 600 of us ROSE and danced!  Very cool!  Even cooler?  Take a look at the impact we had via our website and our Facebook page.  So far …

Our website has had over 6,687 pageviews – over 10 times the impact of the event itself!  Many more people than filled the stands at Parkview Field are now aware of the importance of ending violence against women and girls.

• Our best day was February 2 with 895 views (when the Flash Mob at One Summit Square was published).
• Next was February 14 (gee, who would have thought that?) with 723 views.
• The 15th and 16th had 662 and 522 views respectively.

Most popular web pages:

• The full length flash mob video – 208 views.
• Flash mob at One Summit Square – 193 views.
• Patrick Ryan’s event day photo collection – 173 views.
• The first Glenbrook flash mob video – 167 views.
• Thank you sponsors and partners – 103 views.

Our home page had over 1,450 views, so depending on what was posted there at the time, all of these pages probably had more views in actuality.

Perhaps most heartening – toward our mission to end violence against women and girls – is the fact that our Local Resources web page received 102 views.  To those of you 102 who were in need of help, we are really glad you found the right place!

The most popular individually-clicked photos were all from the One Summit Square flash mob.  Maybe that was because they were posted the longest – or maybe that was because our viewers all just like to watch us freeze (well, and have fun freezing).

Now, in all fairness, ALL of the photo galleries and photo posts received LOTS of views – and so we can’t really say which photo was viewed the most.  We happen to love them all, and we particularly want to thank our great photographers, Tony Frantz and Patrick Ryan for an amazing job!

Over 1,300 of our viewers came to the website from Facebook.  Yeah, I guess we did post a little bit over there.  Over 5,000 people saw posts made by our facebook community page, and our Facebook friends who referred to our posts were responsible for over 2,200 of those views.  This doesn’t count the posts on our event page – or the numerous posts that all of our friends made about OBRFW.

So, we’d all like to say thanks to each and every one of you who visited us at Parkview Field on the 14th, visited our website, or visited our Facebook pages.  To you and to everyone who posted a link, tweeted or retweeted something, referred someone to us, or put up a poster, we say … “The impact of One Billion Rising Fort Wayne was incredible because of YOU.  KEEP RISING!”

Thanks to Patrick Ryan for producing some ABSOLUTELY GREAT event photos – and lots of them.  Check out the complete gallery.

Thanks, Mayor!

1 Billion Rising in Fort Wayne from Spaces Quarterly on Vimeo.

Dear friends, 

One Billion Rising Fort Wayne is here! I can’t wait to see everyone at Parkview Field tomorrow Feb. 14th at noon (it’s going to be 45 degrees and sunny!) and I just wanted to provide a few final details about what to expect:

• Free parking is available in Parkview Field’s Silver Lot south of the TinCaps stadium.
• Food trucks will be in place beginning at 11am and after the event until 1:30pm for the purchase of lunch, with a portion of proceeds being donated to the local prevention of violence.
• OBRFW is FREE to attend. However, volunteers will be on hand to collect a suggested $3 donation to emphasize the 1 in 3 women impacted by violence or abuse statistic. All event proceeds will benefit the local prevention of violence against women and girls and the treatment/healing of survivors. 
• The event will go from 12pm – 12:45pm and will be outdoors, so please dress for the weather. 
• You don’t need any dancing skills to attend! Dancing is part of One Billion Rising worldwide to spread healing energy, strength and hope. Dancing is primal and liberating and can be done in any form. Our motto is “Move how you move, wiggle how you wiggle.” We will have dance leaders to lead the steps, but everyone is encouraged to join in by clapping and moving in any way that feels right to them. 

Thank you all for standing up and being part of One Billion Rising Fort Wayne. Together we have the power to end violence and abuse, and instead spread a message of love and respect for all this Valentine’s Day!

Sincerely, 

Lori Block Keys

Indiana’s NewsCenter ran a video spot today highlighting One Billion Rising Fort Wayne.  In that clip you can get a quick peek of the Fort Wayne TinCaps Bad Apple Dancers practicing to help lead us tomorrow at Parkview Field.  OBRFW organizer Lori is showing them a few moves.

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/home/Summit-City-Joins-One-Billion-Rising-Movement–191106251.html

First of all, thanks to Indiana’s NewsCenter for shining a light on One Billion Rising Fort Wayne!  And, of course, to the Bad Apple Dancers – another big thanks!