FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Donna Giberti,
Director of Development and Marketing
Independence House, Inc.
508-771-6507 x221, Fax 508-778-0143 donnag@indhouse.net
Men asked to Stand Up and Pledge at the 3rd Annual White Ribbon Day on Cape Cod
Hyannis, MA, March 2, 2015 — Independence House, Inc. in collaboration with the Yarmouth Police Department and the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office bring an international effort to Cape Cod for a third year. The White Ribbon Day event calls on men to stand up in solidarity, wear a white ribbon and take a pledge saying NO to violence against women and girls.
This free community event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 5th from 9:00-11:00am at the Irish Village in South Yarmouth. Speakers will include State Representative Tim Whelan; Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office; Yarmouth Police Chief, Frank Frederickson; Cape and Island’s District Attorney’s Office; Independence House Executive Director Lysetta Hurge-Putnam; The ManKind Project; and Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) students from Barnstable, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional and Falmouth High Schools.
Men of all ages throughout the Cape as well as media are invited and encouraged to attend.
The event creates awareness among males in our community about the issue of men’s violence against women and invites them to join in being a part of the solution.
The White Ribbon Campaign was founded in 1991 by a group of men committed to ending men’s violence against women through education, discussion, and action. The campaign was founded after fourteen female students were systematically targeted because of their gender and killed by a gunman at the University of Montreal. Twenty four years later the initiative has grown into the largest effort in the world addressing gender violence. The international campaign was introduced to Massachusetts by Jane Doe, Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence as the “Massachusetts White Ribbon Campaign”. (www.whiteribbonday.janedoe.org).
Independence House, Inc. is Cape Cod’s leading resource, counseling and advocacy center to address and prevent domestic and sexual violence. In partnership with the Cape Cod community, businesses, organizations, youth and adults, we are striving for a future without violence and abuse, and promote and advocate for safe and healthy intimate partner relationships.
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