Domestic violence awareness month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month at IVCC peaked on Oct. 15 with the Tree Ceremony for Individuals Remembered, Honored, and Still Struggling Against Domestic Violence at 6 p.m. in CTC125.
This event was sponsored by IVCC’s Human Services planning team Project Awareness; with members Nicole Doran, Kim Burrow, Jill Nickelsen, and Morgan Corbel, in collaboration with ADV & SAS representative Mary Johnson and Freedom House representative Fay Data.
The tree ceremony included the tying of about 130 ribbons collected at 8 local libraries at the beginning of October, bearing the names of victims, prayers, and symbols to the branches of a tree at the IVCC main campus.
“Every day I could not be more proud of what we have to offer to the community,” IVCC president Dr. Jerry Corcoran said in his welcoming address that evening. “You’ve [Project Awareness] done a great job sending an important message on the seriousness of this issue.”
Also displayed was the “Gentle Man’s Pledge” banner signed by some of the male population of IVCC, silhouettes representing and telling the stories of victims from 5 counties provided by Freedom House, as well as a series of paintings created by a woman victim in the early ’90s provided by ADV & SAS.
Speakers that night included Human Services program coordinator Jean Batson-Turner, ADV & SAS executive director Margaret Morrison, and Freedom House executive director Bruce McVety.
Batson-Turner thanked those in attendance for supporting a cause close to her heart: “I do it because of the strength and the courage of those who have been victimized and for the silence of those still struggling against domestic violence.”
Project Awareness also conducted a poster contest Oct. 13-17 for graphic design students which were displayed in the IVCC lobby alongside their informational table throughout that week. Posters included domestic violence statistics putting into perspective its prevalence.
