Create a Silent Witness Exhibit
Creating a Silent Witness Exhibit in Your Community
How To Generate Support:
The key to beginning your campus or community Silent Witness Chapter is to generate interest among your community. Establishing allies will provide the commitment necessary to create and maintain your Silent Witnesses.
Who would be interested in helping?
Women’s Centers / Shelters
Churches or Local Places of Worship
Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Service or Volunteer Groups
Counseling Centers
Volunteer Clubs and Organizations
How Do You Pay For a Witness?
On average, it costs about $100 to create one witness. This includes the materials to build the witness such as plywood and paint, and promotional materials such as creating banners, brochures, luminary candles, and program book. While it might seem overwhelming for inexperienced fundraising, the reality is anyone can obtain the resources needed.
We have some great ideas on creating an exhibit with donated materials or fundraising to purchase the materials. Check out the “Fundraising Ideas For Your Witness Event” on our website.
What Materials Do We Need?
Once the appropriate wording has been established for the Witness, the shield can be ordered from:
Thorough-Graphic Signs, Inc.
c/o John Cox
PO Box 1355
Lexington, KY 4058
Shields are approximately $50 each plus shipping and handling
An alternative to wooden Witnesses is to make them from cardboard. Some projects have made temporary Silent Witnesses out of cardboard or foam until they have been able to raise the money or generate the donations to create the permanent Witnesses out of wood.
Stories of Local Domestic Violence Murder Victims
An important requirement for creating Silent Witnesses is that the murder must be a domestic violence homicide with a conviction or pending conviction. The language used on the shield can only indicate the perpetrator of a Domestic Violence homicide if it meets the criteria above. Stories can be researched through local news media as well as your local Attorney General’s office. Some states have this information available through the Attorney General’s webpage but in many cases it requires some research on the part of the chapter or state organizer to write the stories for the shields.
This is also a great opportunity to reach out to victim’s families. Depending on their healing journey, Witness families might like to be involved in your event.
Creating A Storybook - Many events create a storybook that has a summary of each Witness story. This can be a powerful tool to use during your event that serves as a reminder of how special each victim can be. Silent Witness has a template that you can download and have printed locally. Consider asking a local printer to donate the printing of the booklet, or see if a corporation will provide a gift to underwrite costs.
To view the storybook template, click HERE
Contact Jennifer Stanley for assistance in setting up your exhibit.
The key to beginning your campus or community Silent Witness Chapter is to generate interest among your community. Establishing allies will provide the commitment necessary to create and maintain your Silent Witnesses.
Who would be interested in helping?
Women’s Centers / Shelters
Churches or Local Places of Worship
Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Service or Volunteer Groups
Counseling Centers
Volunteer Clubs and Organizations
How Do You Pay For a Witness?
On average, it costs about $100 to create one witness. This includes the materials to build the witness such as plywood and paint, and promotional materials such as creating banners, brochures, luminary candles, and program book. While it might seem overwhelming for inexperienced fundraising, the reality is anyone can obtain the resources needed.
We have some great ideas on creating an exhibit with donated materials or fundraising to purchase the materials. Check out the “Fundraising Ideas For Your Witness Event” on our website.
What Materials Do We Need?
Once the appropriate wording has been established for the Witness, the shield can be ordered from:
Thorough-Graphic Signs, Inc.
c/o John Cox
PO Box 1355
Lexington, KY 4058
Shields are approximately $50 each plus shipping and handling
An alternative to wooden Witnesses is to make them from cardboard. Some projects have made temporary Silent Witnesses out of cardboard or foam until they have been able to raise the money or generate the donations to create the permanent Witnesses out of wood.
Stories of Local Domestic Violence Murder Victims
An important requirement for creating Silent Witnesses is that the murder must be a domestic violence homicide with a conviction or pending conviction. The language used on the shield can only indicate the perpetrator of a Domestic Violence homicide if it meets the criteria above. Stories can be researched through local news media as well as your local Attorney General’s office. Some states have this information available through the Attorney General’s webpage but in many cases it requires some research on the part of the chapter or state organizer to write the stories for the shields.
This is also a great opportunity to reach out to victim’s families. Depending on their healing journey, Witness families might like to be involved in your event.
Creating A Storybook - Many events create a storybook that has a summary of each Witness story. This can be a powerful tool to use during your event that serves as a reminder of how special each victim can be. Silent Witness has a template that you can download and have printed locally. Consider asking a local printer to donate the printing of the booklet, or see if a corporation will provide a gift to underwrite costs.
To view the storybook template, click HERE
Contact Jennifer Stanley for assistance in setting up your exhibit.