So, if you can’t come we’ll miss you. 
But, we will be livestreaming the event. Watch it here …
Video streaming by Ustream
Or point your web browser to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tincapstv.
And you can also follow the activity on Twitter at hashtag #1billionrisingfw and @obrising_fw.
Thanks, BIG TIME, to Parkview Field and the Fort Wayne TinCaps for being so great to work with and for making all of the site preparation as easy as pie (apple pie, that is).
You people rock! I repeat – ROCK! In a very short period of time over 500 of you have “signed up” on our Facebook Event Page to RISE at noon tomorrow at Parkview Field!
From all of the volunteers, “We are so very grateful and thankful for everyone who has supported One Billion Rising Fort Wayne. You are all helping us to achieve awareness about violence against women and girls, a key step toward solving the issue. You people rock!”
See you tomorrow! Wear some pink or red.
One Billion Rising is an important moment for the city of Fort Wayne. As a community, we are standing together to celebrate those who have survived violence, while saying with a unified voice that enough is enough. For this reason, YWCA Northeast Indiana is proud to stand by the One Billion Rising Fort Wayne movement as a Resource Partner.
Women come to YWCA Northeast Indiana in times of crisis, because of domestic violence. Annually, our Crisis Line receives over 4,000 calls and we provide services to over 1,500 women and children. These women come for emotional support and empowerment. They come for help in finding childcare, job training, and a better education. They come for a variety of reasons. But they come. And they leave with a renewed spirit, new skills, and stronger lives.
Our entire community is affected by domestic violence and the community benefits derived from our services are both immediate and long-term. We are committed to reducing the number of domestic violence incidents in our community and to improving the future of the women, men, and children exposed to it.
That is why YWCA Northeast Indiana is proud to strike, dance, and rise up with the rest of the Fort Wayne community to show that we are serious about ending violence against women. We look forward to seeing you on February 14!
Learn more about YWCA Northeast Indiana by visiting www.ywca.org/NEIN or by calling (260) 424-4908. Our Crisis Line can also be reached 24/7 at (260) 447-7233 or (800) 441-4073.
… for publishing a great interview with One Billion Rising Fort Wayne organizer, Lori.
As Trinity and David put it in their intro, “This was originally planned to be bonus material to our regular show but the message in this interview was too important to not feature. So, here it is. This is the full length interview with Lori Block Keys, the organizer of 1 Billion Rising Fort Wayne.”
We agree! Go listen to it here.
Trinity and David, we’ll see you on V-Day at noon!
Thanks to Tim Spencer for uploading a view from ground level. And for doing a panoramic sweep of the crowd so we can see just how many people were there watching!
Next, here’s another floor level view, courtesy of Jim Garigen.
And here’s another angle from the floor, posted to YouTube by Willing Workers Outreach Ministry, Inc. – and found there by Jimmie King. Thanks, all!
Thank you, Melissa Tuttle, for uploading the first video of the Glenbrook flash mob!
The crowd was truly amazing for this flash mob. People lined the railing of the entire second floor from the elevator all of the way to the carousel at the food court!
Stay tuned and fine out …
Update: – if you read the next post, you’ll find out what these happy folk were smiling about!
The Allen County Board of Commissioners has proclaimed February 14 to be One Billion Rising Day. Very cool!
The proclamation cites the volunteer efforts of One Billion Rising Fort Wayne volunteers and supporters, saying, “through this movement, our community is voicing its commitment to end violence against women and unite around love and respect for all.” It goes on to urge all Allen County residents to “stand in solidarity with one billion others on our planet in sending the clear message that violence against women and girls is never acceptable.”
Read more here at their website and see the photo of Commissioners Therese Brown and Nelson Peters and some OBRFW volunteers as the proclamation is read.
Short Answer: to Promote Love and Respect for Women and Children
So why do we work with men who abuse women? Because they are men that we all know, they are our fathers, brothers, uncles, they are men we attend church with, or we buy our groceries from. These are men who become involved in intimate relationships with that people that we care about. We work with them and we live along side of them. They date our friends our daughters and they raise the next generation. Ignoring them (these men) means to turn our back on all the people who will cross paths with them throughout the rest of their lives.
It is rather astounding that boys in our society are expected to learn about all of the mysteries of business, industry and sport, but are not even asked to learn about the mind of a woman or the cause-and-effect of a good intimate relationship. Boys are taught all of the fine points of team-building. Boys are encouraged to learn how engines work and how to take care of an automobile. Boys learn that a car must be washed and waxed not just once, but regularly, and that the oil must be changed over and over. However, boys are not systematically taught to understand how women think. Boys are seldom encouraged to consider the maintenance of a life-long marriage. Boys think girls are emotional, idealistic and romantic; yet boys turn into men who believe, idealistically, that relationships magically happen, that a woman can continue to love a man for a lifetime, even if he remains silent, unresponsive, emotionally illiterate, and, in some cases, abusive.
One of our programs introduces men to the notion that a relationship requires at least as much effort to maintain as an automobile. The fact that women and children are living beings with free will does not take away from the reality that there are certain predictable outcomes in relationships based upon our behavior. It matters whether we try hard to nurture and honor relationships, or whether we neglect and despise them. “Love and respect” is not a gift that descends upon us without effort. I am responsible for bringing love into my own home and for offering unconditional respect to my family. It is hopelessly romantic of me to believe I am entitled to love if I’m unwilling to give respect. The presence of “love and respect” is, in part, a man-made creation.
To achieve this creation, there is work and effort involved that the Center bases on our definition of nonviolence. We define nonviolence in two ways: “ A lifestyle based on love, truth and community, and speaking up for the truth in ways that do not hurt or control others.”
- by John Beams and the Center for Nonviolence
The Center for Nonviolence provides services to men, women, and youth who have used violence as well as support services for women and children who have been victims of violence or abuse. For more information, please visit http://www.centerfornv.org or call 260-456-4112.
What do the Fort Wayne Ballet and the TinCaps Bad Apple Dancers have in common? You may be thinking, “Huh? Them? In common? Huh?”
But … actually they have at least two things in common.
Don’t miss it! February 14 noon on the Bad Apple Dancers’ home turf, Parkview Field.