V-Day at Antioch: Raising Money to Stop Violence
I’m super excited to be volunteering tonight at V-Day Antioch.
V-day is an event held worldwide each year to benefit organizations that help women and children who have been abused and assaulted.
This non-profit primarily raises their money through benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues. They’ve raised over $10 million to date.
The first year I lived in Arizona I was cast as The Angry Vagina in a production in Flagstaff. We raised over $20,000 over two nights for the local organization that dealt with sexual assault. Ten % went back to the worldwide campaign to stop violence. The following year, in 2006, I organized the first V-Day Sedona event and my producing partner Mindy Mendelsohn and I went on to raise tens of thousands of dollars for the local shelter over the last few years.
Now that I’m in CA I’m so happy to be able to contribute for this cause that is so near to my heart.
If you google V-Day in your city you may be able to go to a performance locally. The proceeds for the ticket price goes directly to stop violence locally and around the world. And—why not audition this year or next? It’s usually cast with non actors. Just an incredibly powerful and bonding experience.
I remember going to New Orleans to celebrate the star-studded tenth anniversary of V-Day. The audience filled a stadium. And at the end Eve Ensler asked people to stand up if they had been abused—people popped up out of their seats. Then she asked people who knew someone who had been abused to stand. The entire stadium stood up and I couldn’t stop crying. I was crying for the pain and I was crying for the hope I was feeling. Each person was no longer alone.
Blessings,
Brenda
