Would you believe some of the best stand up comedy sets are written by domestic violence survivors?
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Photo Credit: Fall Humor via Pinterest |
Don’t take my word for it. Consider looking into Aftercare Celebrations this October during Domestic Violence Awareness month.
Laugh with survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. See how empowering comedy can be and how useful it is in reclaiming one’s identity.
Read on to discover 17 Thought-starters that SGL will reward with swag via our Fall Fitness Challenge Sponsors.
What does fitness have to do with preventing and addressing domestic violence? The health of a community can be determined by how well it treats its neighbors. Right? It goes to follow that if someone is being harmed through emotional, financial and physical abuse that a neighborhood ought to intervene. It is a Home & Community Fitness concern.
Need more convincing that real counterparts to virtual communities aren’t a thing of the past? Read Men’s Health on “How Your Neighbors Make You Healthier”.
Make your deadline November 1st.
Imagine these 17 prompts as skeletons. The first of these is “fleshed-out”. What are your thoughts? You have freedom in shaping your project to benefit Domestic Violence Survivors and Aftercare Programs. Share with us how you use your leadership training from this blog to share a vision, recruit resources, execute your plan and measure success!
Our Guest Editor for Home & Community can’t wait to read all the submissions! Contact her here.
Let’s get the skeleton of domestic violence out of the closets of affluent suburbs, ordinary urban centers, and religious communities!
Simple Steps
Give yourself a name as Team Captain.
Recruit at least one other person as your partner in good works.
Post your project on the SGL Facebook page. Update with pics every week to share best practices.
Get rewards. What are some examples of rewards? For starters, team captains from the SGL Summer Fitness Challenge received a box filled with 250 Luna Bars!
17 Thought-Starters
1. Stage a Pinterest Humor-inspired Block Party on a Thursday Night from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Transform a dead leaf laden court into a deliriously-fun craft project for kids and grown ups. Know how to press a fresh leaf with a book? Even better. Organize this using your smartphone. Get one local star crafter and get 3 back-up maker community crafters to donate 6 hours. Recruit a local youth club such as 4H, the scouts, a high school key club or a new college grad Meetup to do setup, cleanup and to provide the social media promos you need to get the word out.http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/nisvs/
2. Cycle to Work for 45 days. Allow yourself to be inspired by the NPR article on biking.
3. Craft the Creepiest Halloween Front-Yard. Take 3 tips from Babble’s 15 Halloween Decoration Ideas.
4. Coordinate a Sing-Along for Danny Elfman songs
5. Take a Front-line Domestic Violence Aftercare Worker such as Kim Biddle to lunch. Have him/her speak at your Rotary Club or Robotics Meetup over cobb salad.
6. Sponsor 15 employees so they can register as a team for an athletic event to benefit the cause.
7. Film Youtube tutorials about the basic moves for skateboarding
8. Surf. Did you know that the sound of water can be therapeutic to survivors? Will you record video clips and share them with an Aftercare Program?
9. Skydive. The stigma of fleeing an abusive intimate partner relationship can make some survivors feel as if pushed out of a plane. What can you do to educate your circle of adrenalin athletes to change the culture?
10. Hike barefoot for solidarity with survivors who flee without shoes
11. Fry seafood. Deep-fried oyster po’boy sandwich, anyone?
12. Grill paninis or borrow Oktoberfest ideas from SheKnows
13. Mac and Cheese Marathon. The Mac and Cheese Bundt: good or gross? You decide. Taking a Pantry Challenge like Crystal of MrsHappyHomemaker? Crisp up that Tuna mac with her secret gluten-free ingredient!
14. Host a Comedy Benefit. Not the funniest person in the room? No problem. Be the talent scout. Need examples? See Heavy’s Danny Vega’s Top 10 from Twitter.
15. Listen to the wish list of a Domestic Violence Aftercare Intake Coordinator. See if your zipcode can provide 3 out of the list of 10 (i.e. women’s flats and attire for court, baby wipes for children of survivors, pet treats for cats/dogs who fled with survivor, non-dairy food donations for pantries)
16. Use your Klout. Use the power of your guest post to invigorate rather than bum out your readership about positive steps they can take. Treat yourself to a freshly assembled, rather than baked, teacup cookie as an incentive.
17. Take a phone inventory via a hotline such as Saving Innocence and do Six Days of Solidarity. Do all your daily tasks (i.e. get to work, bring help your kids with schoolwork, deposit your paycheck, and do your laundry) without a cell phone, without a bank account, without your car and without bus fare.