Petition For Domestic Violence Awareness Within The NFL

On any given Sunday, Monday or Thursday, NFL fans are glued to their TVs and mobile devices in dedicated support of their favorite team. And although the sport is a testosterone-driven machine, players throughout the league this month have been accenting their uniforms with pink gloves, towels and cleats in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Most of the athletes are personally affected by breast cancer. The pink apparel is a powerful way to get support, but it makes domestic violence the underdog when it comes to creating awareness to an audience of millions tuning in.

While lives are traumatically affected by the wrath of breast cancer, domestic violence destroys families and even careers, as wide receiver Chad Johnson's short-lived signing with the Miami Dolphins ended with him head-butting his bride Evelyn Johnson. But the latest devastation involving murders of innocent co-workers in the Wisconsin mass shooting proves that any of us can be affected.

Nicole Lofton is throwing a Hail Mary pass to the NFL by creating a petition to get them to add the color purple for Domestic Violence awareness in October. As it stands, her Change.org petition needs 1,955 signatures, so please add your voice today by clicking here.

The Compassion Fashion Project

 

Stiletto Tote image courtesy of Compassion Fashion Project

Russian fashion illustrator Lena Ker is using her talent on fashionable pieces and donating 100% of the proceeds to benefit Arkansas domestic violence shelters.

Through Compassion Fashion Project - a philanthropic entity that organizes corporate fundraisers, special silent auctions, fashion shows and an array of unique opportunities to generate public awareness and excitement - Ker has created artistic T-shirts and totes that evoke style and substance.

TWHS Reviews The Little Black Dress

 

 

Ask any woman about the LBD hanging in her closet, and she will be able to quickly tell you its style, the event(s) she wore it to and the way it makes her feel. 

There is a book titled The Little Black Dress that captures all of that and more; it details the inspirational journey of a young woman's path from hopelessness to healing.  A compact read that can be completed in one afternoon (with a big impact ending) it is perfect for any woman - from tweens to elders -  as the ideal holiday gift.   If you happen to be a member of a woman's book club,  support group or afternoon tea, it is a must-read!

Written by Amanda Graybill, the fictional novel is the basis of her service organization Little Black Dress Society, which she based on her personal experience with abuse to give hope to women who are suffering in silence.

The acronym LBD also stands for the organization's mantra Love, Believe, Dream,  and the mission is to raise funds and awareness to end domestic violence.  Through her cause, Graybill hopes to remove the blindfold that hides the shame of abuse.  

They say big things come in small packages, and I thoroughly enjoyed the message contained in this jewel of a book.   Much like an LBD, every woman should invest in one.

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes

Every nine seconds, a woman is abused physically, sexually, emotionally, economically or psychologically. This past weekend, 18-year-old college freshman Alexandra Kogut was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, who left her dead in her dorm room at SUNY Brockport.

Unspeakable tragedy that is a daily, horrific occurrence for women in every tax bracket, ethnicity, educational level and state. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it is a cause that I will be addressing each week, in a month that is inundated with other causes.

Why? Because most women who suffer do so in silence, thinking that there is no way to end it. I saw it in my family, as a cousin was beaten in broad daylight by her handsome quarterback boyfriend. I saw it in the workplace, as a coworker's threatening husband had our office under police surveillance for an entire week.  In both incidents, the women refused to press charges and stayed with their abusers.

But more importantly, I saw the warning signs BEFORE it happened in my own life, when the words and actions of a boyfriend were so unsettling to my spirit that I knew - I just knew - love had nothing to do with it.

My book How To Stylishly Fall From Grace details the fictional memoir of a fairy tale gone horribly wrong. The main character has to make a choice between staying in her circumstance, complete with a coveted NYC position within the fashion industry (not to mention a shiny new apartment with deck, dishwasher AND in-unit washer/dryer), or barely surviving in a sleepy city obsessed with naps.  The choice can be life-changing, especially when the allure of a lifestyle can mean the difference between losing everything (and someone) you think is important.

I just wish I had been able to give Alexandra a copy of my book.  A compact novella, 184 pages that she could have read in a weekend, like this past weekend...

Truly 9.6 ounces of prevention that would have been worth a pound of cure. 

Show More

Show Less

Footnote: The men of SUNY Brockport donned red heels for the event Walk A Mile In Her Shoes today.  Although it was scheduled before Alexandra's death, it now has somber meaning to our local community and the university.