July 18, 2003

Dear Friends,
Happy Mid-summer (or mid-winter for our friends down under) to you all. I hope you are planning for some R & R so you are ready for wonderful October events with Silent Witness. And be sure to book your rooms for the March to End the Silence in RI in May. The words of the silent Witness song I printed in the last newsletter, the words we'll all be singing at the march, keep ringing in my ear.

I'll stand in the rain,
I'll stand in the snow,
I'll carry the message wherever I go.
To bring peace and healingS
to help the world change
I¹ll stand in the rain.

I¹ll stand in the rain.
I¹ll weather each storm
In hope that compassion
will one day be the norm
My voice may be gone,
but my spirit is strong
I¹ll stand in the rain.

WELCOME NEW EMAIL CORRESPONDENTS:
Heidi B (shawl recipient, ND), Carmen Burasco (New SW exhibit, NW Arkansas), Annie Warmke (Friend of SW, new email address), Gyorgyi Toth (NANE, SW Hungary, new email address), Monika Grochova (Fenestra, women's organization, Slovakia), Eva Sopkova (Pro Familia, women's organization, Slovakia), Rosa (SW contact, Czech Republic), Frank Baccelliere (brother of SW, OR), Joan Velde (SW supporter/friend, MN), Pam Nolan (WVA Silent Witness
contact, new email address), Renee Hanna (Formerly Cayman Islands SW group, now San Francisco, new email address), Pamela Mullin (SW Indiana), Susan Germanson (DV work with churches, MN, new email address), Sally Laskey (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, PA), Gabrielle Underkoffler (Summerville, SC, possible new SW exhibit).

SECOND MARCH TO END THE SILENCE
May 21-23, 3004 Providence, Rhode Island

HOST HOTEL INFORMATION: Providence Westin Hotel, One West Exchange Street

Only 150 rooms have been blocked at this premiere hotel in the heart of Providence. Within walking distance of the capitol building (1 block!), host site of our opening reception hosted by Attorney General Patrick Lynch on Friday night (May 21 from 7-10PM) and the "Best Practices" conference on Sunday, May 23 from 9:00AM-1:00PM. Attached to the upscale Providence Place Mall, this hotel boasts several of the best restaurants in town, with a fantastic view of the city. 125 rooms have 2 double beds (can sleep 4 people - so you can split the cost!), while 25 have king size beds. The regular rate for the room would be $289 per night, but you will receive the" Silent Witness" special rate of $189 per night by calling them directly at
401-598-8000 and asking for the Silent Witness rate. The city of Providence is the #1 destination spot for conferences on the East Coast and has a total of only 1200 rooms, so you MUST BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM as SOON AS POSSIBLE.
After the 150 rooms are booked, you are on your own to find accomodations in the area. If you split the room with 3 other people, the total for a 2 night stay will be about $450.00 - divided by 4 would cost each person only $112.50 for the hotel room. Then all you need is money for food& miscellaneous expenses (plus travel). Isn't that worth it to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime event? Our goal is to have ALL 50 STATES represented - plus 10 other countries. Help us reach our goal!

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Rafi at (401)847-2798 or nrafi@hotmail.com. More information will be available in a few weeks, and a website is being created soon.

NEWS FROM THE STATES/COUNTRIES:

Massachusetts:
Pat Shaffer from Lowell is on a roll:
Just wanted to let you know that the Reach 2321 Domestic Violence Awareness Committee has expanded. It started in Lowell and now includes Tewksbury and Andover, MA. We would like to welcome Tom D. Mahoney, Danette Daley, Robin Craven, James D. Sheridan and Melinda Bastoni from Tewksbury. Also Mark Irving and Kimberly Flynn from Andover.

We are happy to say that the candy and coffee sales have been a huge success. We have been able to continue to do projects to bring awareness to the workplace and be able to help the people in need. A project the committee are most excited about is a cookbook in memory of Domestic Violence victims and survivors. The recipes were donated by employees of Verizon and members of our Local Union 2321. We are in the process of publishing 250 books to be on sale to raise more money to support this worthy cause. I will let you know when they arrive. They will be on sale for 15.00 per book.

At the Lowell office a sincere thank you to Gwen Lay, Lori Adreani and Craig Fields for all their devotion and hard work to keep our Committee going strong. We have started "HOTDOG DAY-FRIDAY" which was a huge success on the first Friday. The response was overwhelming. We steamed hotdogs and sold them for 1.00 a piece and 50 cents for chips. Between 12 and 2PM we sold 78 hotdogs.

Also we would like to thank our friends from our Verizon Marlboro office who sent us 3 large boxes full of cell phones that were donated to the Newburyport Woman's Crisis Center. We are extremely excited that other offices are so willing to help. We love reading this newsletter because it gives us ideas on how we can help and hope our ideas can be shared as well.

*Thank you, Pat for all this fine effort. What a satisfying feeling to have already gotten so much done.

Pennsylvania:
Sheri Mintkoff write of all the action in PA:

Silent Witness Initiative (SWI) volunteers have displayed new informational posters all over Allegheny county, thanks to one volunteer. A NCJW member, graciously donated her skill, expertise, and resources and provided NCJW's SWI project with 2,000 newly designed Domestic Violence Awareness Project posters. Many volunteers have spread out over the Pittsburgh area in an effort to place these powerful posters. Community response has been very positive and cooperative. The posters are making a difference. Staff at local shelters report that calls have doubled since posters have been placed. Mazel Tov to NCJW for being the 2003 recipient of
the Ted Craig Humanitarian Award of the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. This award was presented to NCJW at the Shelter's May 7 Annual Dinner. NCJW and their volunteers were honored for their efforts to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all.

Sheila's Shawls project is underway. Many members of the community have donated yarn, so others can create masterpieces; while others have turned in completed works of art. Although the goal of the project is to provide shawls to victims' families, NCJW is also accepting scarves and lap robes to be donated to the shelter. Many abuse victims leave home in the middle of the night in just their pajamas. "Scarves and blankets will help these victims keep warm and know that people do care," said Twyla Sable, SWI chairperson.

The dedicated committee workers volunteers are: Karen Egorin, Susan Tanzer, Dena Chottiner, Joan Levy, Sheri Minkoff, Barbara Mendlowitz. Marion Damick