Fundraising
The Hurricane Of Domestic Violence – 4
Remember Me
How many of you remember the name of a hurricane that you or someone you know was in? That name is distasteful in your mouth for that name. If someone says the name Camille, Helena, Andrew to you, what do you think about? You remember those names?
If three women are killed daily in the United States due to domestic violence, will you remember these names? All these names are victims of domestic violence that were killed by the hurricane that was in their lives — the abuser.
Chandra May – age 29
Linda Pa Vue – age 29
Leticia Vela – age 25
Francisa Ramirez – age 38
Lisbet Mendez – age 24
Stacy Locknath – age 26
Stephanie Killeen – age 46
Gretchen Rust – age 64
Tracy Reedy – age 50
Theresa Watts – age 36
We do not want your name to be added to this list. Each of these ladies continued to think that it wouldn’t happen to them. That as a hurricane comes in waves that the storms of this time in their lives would pass again.
Have you told anyone about the hurricanes in your life with your abuser? May I plead with you to tell someone? Let someone know what is going on in your life.
Prepare for the hurricane of your life. Check back at the blogs from Reach Out Speak Out. Check back at the Facebook posts that give you a list of the things you need to do to prepare for the hurricane of domestic violence.
Now is hurricane season. Now is the time for you to prepare for your personal hurricane.
We do not want to add your name to the list above. We do not want you to think that this pattern is going to go away. Protect yourself and your children. You as the abused person have a responsibility to you and your children.
Reach Out Speak Out is here to help you navigate through this hurricane in your life.
We are a non-profit ministry and our focus is on those that are in our faith based community that are in a domestic violence relationship. 501(C)(3)47-1630804 Thank you in advance.
Remember, your time, talent and money can and will save someone’s life.
*To read additional information about the author of this blog, you may be interested in her book called, “It Started With A Hamburger”. It can be downloaded from Amazon.com All royalties go to Reach Out Speak Out.
In August, you will hear from a man who was a domestic violence victim as a child tells his story.
The Hurricane Of Domestic Violence – 3
A hurricane has hit your family and home. I pray that you prepared for the dangers and devastation that hit your family. I pray that no family member lost their life because of the hurricane.
When the hurricane is over we can finally get our lives back in order. The electric finally comes back on. We can then turn our air conditioning on and cool down from the sweltering heat that we had to endure while the hurricane was going on and deal with the aftereffects of the hurricane.
How does the information above and below represent a domestic violence relationship?
1. The hurricane/domestic violence hits your family/home
2. The abused starts to pray again and again that the family will be spared and that God will protect them again
3. Then the hurricane/domestic violence is over for this round and it is time to get back to business getting everything cleaned up. Whether the cleaning involves broken toys and chairs and dishes. Or a broken spirit from mental and emotional abuse. There is loss. Not just the loss of the abused but the children also had to endure the loss. If the children were not abused, they had to look on to see the destruction of the family.
DEATHS DURING A HURRICANE COMPARED TO DEATHS BECAUSE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Catastrophes
Hurricanes And Related Deaths In The United States, 1998-2017
|
(1) Atlantic Basin.
(2) Includes fatalities from high winds of less than hurricane force from tropical storms.
(3) One hurricane (Alex) is considered a strike but not technically a landfall.
(4) Includes one hurricane (Hanna) which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(5) Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(6) Excludes Hurricane Sandy which made landfall as a post-tropical storm.
Source: Insurance Information Institute from data supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center.
iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-hurricanes
Deaths due to Domestic Violence
Three women are murdered every day, on average, by a current or former male partner in the United States. (Huffington Post)
365 x 3 = 1095
Are you going to be a statistic? There is a way to leave the hurricane of your life safely. You can read our previous blogs, look at our Facebook page, go to our website ReachOutSpeakOut.org. Or email us at [email protected].
Reach Out Speak Out needs your help. Nothing is too small. Whether it is your time, talent or money, we can use it. When a hurricane of life/domestic violence hits someone in your community, the resources become used up very quickly. We don’t want to have to turn someone down. As an insurance policy may tell you that you did not have the right coverage to cover the loss from the hurricane. We at Reach Out Speak Out want to help be your insurance policy. We have helped many families in the seven years that we have been here to help the Tampa Bay area. We are a non-profit ministry and our focus is on those that are in our faith based community that are in a domestic violence relationship. 501(C)(3)47-1630804 Thank you in advance.
Remember, your time, talent and money can and will save someone’s life.
*To read additional information about the author of this blog, you may be interested in her book called, “It Started With A Hamburger”. It can be downloaded from Amazon.com All royalties go to Reach Out Speak Out.
You Can Help
Over the years, the most common question we hear from the public is “How can I help?
There are many ways you can be of help to Reach Out Speak Out. First, we are in dire need of volunteers for our auxiliary committee. All that is required to be on our auxiliary committee is 30 service hours per YEAR. Very doable!
Second, we are always in need of gift cards for our families. Walmart, Publix, Winn Dixie, Walgreen’s, gas stations are key among the cards we give our families for their needs each month. We even have a Scrip Program where you can purchase your gift cards through Reach Out Speak Out and the non-profit receives a percentage from your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more than the face value of the cards you purchase. Third, of course, we always take cash donations! We are happy to provide receipts for your tax-deductible donations for your taxes
Every person involved in Reach Out Speak Out on the Board of Directors, our Advisory Board of Licensed Counselors and our Auxiliary Committee are volunteers. Every penny that we get through the generous donations goes to our families. We have no paid employees!
If you or your organization or your business is interested in hearing more about Reach Out Speak Out, please do not hesitate to ask. You can reach out to me via email at [email protected] or call me on my cell at 813-985-1970.
Donating
Since becoming the Board of Directors Chair, I have had many people ask me how they can help Reach Out Speak Out. Besides volunteering your time, we can use your talents and of course your treasure! Our families are always in need of gift cards for groceries and gas as well as needing toiletries, gluten-free foods, and even laundry and cleaning supplies.
As Reach Out Speak Out continues to grow, so do our needs for donations and volunteers. We are available to speak to your civic or community organizations about Reach Out Speak Out. Do you attend a church that needs to hear about us? Let us know and we would be happy to speak with your church leadership about how we could help each other!
We are currently in the process of planning our largest fundraiser, The Purple Passion. It is held annually in October during Domestic Violence Awareness month. We have one of the most extensive silent auctions in the city with gift baskets in every price range. All proceeds go to the charity. All items are donated by various citizens, businesses, and foundations as well as local sports teams and restaurants.
If you or your organization would like to donate for this worthy cause, please contact me at [email protected] or call 813-985-1970.
‘Tis The Season Of Giving
As we head into December, I can’t help but think about how we are entering the season of giving. Giving Tuesday may be past, but giving -baked goods, time, gifts, love is not. Not only is it the time of giving for friends and family at Christmastime, but it’s also the time to think about year-end gifts for nonprofit organizations like Reach Out Speak Out.
Who We Are
We are a nonprofit 501 3 c organization that reaches out to religious groups and organizations to speak out about how domestic violence is wrong. We offer support to women and children who are getting out of danger and back on their feet in a safe environment. Reach Out Speak Out helps in a variety of ways from a listening ear, to counseling, to short term or long term help, to encouragement and much more.
We have just reached our 5-year mark as a nonprofit, 501 3 c organization and we are really taking off! We need your help. Our first 5-year program family is wrapping up their time and we are taking on more families at the 5-year level and in many other situations that need short or long-term assistance.
Ways To Help
There are many ways to give.
Financially, you can mail a check payable to Reach Out Speak Out to P.O. Box 48797 Tampa, FL 33646. If you would rather donate online, you can give via PayPal by using the button below:
Please consider us in your charitable giving as this tax year ends. You can feel good that you are blessing a worthy cause while you get a tax break for yourself. Individual, foundation or corporate level we appreciate your time and gift. We also have a scrip gift card program where you can buy (and donate) gift cards for your holiday and everyday shopping needs. See https://rosoprod.wpengine.com/thankscriping/ for more information.
Don’t have money to donate? Your time and talents are incredible gifts! We are also looking for auxiliary members. Please contact [email protected] for more information on how to join us!
Thankscriping is coming!!
Thankscriping?
Wait, what? I thought it was called Thanksgiving…. Ok, so it’s both. “Scrip” is
a gift card program where you order cards and I mail them directly to you. The
best part is it doesn’t cost you anything extra, and the company gives a
percentage of the purchase price back to Reach Out Speak Out. So you can
donate to Reach Out Speak Out just by shopping.
Scrip Gift Cards Galore!
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas are all coming up
soon! But you don’t just have to shop for gifts for others – shop for yourself guilt
free. And this program lasts year round so go ahead and make it a habit to stop by
for all your regular shopping needs. From gas stations to grocery, hardware to
health and beauty, department stores to dinner out, shop with scrip has
something for everyone. Use gift cards like cash/credit/check and know you
donating to a worthy cause at the same time.
Don’t want to order and wait for cards to be mailed to you? No worries!
There’s an online website MyScripWallet that offers eGift cards and reload on
select physical gift cards right from your mobile device. It’s a great instant value
anywhere you shop.
Wondering how to sign up?
This link will take you to an information and instruction page that has the enrollment code
for ROSO. Sign up soon and enroll in presto pay (safe online payment via your
checking account) to be ready for cyber Monday shopping. I will be placing the
next corporate order for physical gift cards on Saturday morning, December 1 in
order to get the gift cards to you in time for Christmas gifting.
For those near and far who would like to do something to help out our
clients and families that are survivors of domestic violence, this is a great way to
get involved! We even use this program to purchase gift cards for our clients for
Christmas and birthday presents and everyday groceries.
Feel free to contact me with any questions at [email protected]!
