Mu Tau Mu of Alpha Chi Omega

Did you know:

About one in five high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.⁵

1 in 3 teens report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked, or otherwise physically hurt by his or her partner.⁹

[If you think you or a friend might be in danger, please call the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline at 1-866-331-9474 or go to http://loveisrespect.com/ to chat online with a peer advocate.]

Teen Date Abuse is a very serious issue. One place to learn more: Alpha Chi Omega collegian, Patrice Basso (Delta Chi, William Woods) contributed a great blog post on it this week on College Lifestyles.

This video gives good insight into the problem of teen dating violence and the solutions:

Many people and groups are working to end and prevent teen dating violence, including Martina McBride and Lauren Conrad. 

Parents are encouraged to visit MADE - Mothers and Dads for Education to Stop Dating Violence, My Time to Shine and Choose Respect for great information on talking to kids, tweens and teens about dating and healthy relationships.

Please support Alpha Nu chapter (Missouri) of Alpha Chi Omega:

At Alpha Nu we are hosting a sandal sale tomorrow night as part of our philanthropy week. The sandals support women in Uganda who need fair work to earn tuition to become doctors and lawyers, and part of the proceeds will benefit our philanthropy. The very cute sandals can be purchased online as well at http://www.Ssekodesigns.com, and will still benefit us if "Alpha Chi Omega" is written in the "Ambassador" box. This may be a great way for Alpha Chi's around the country to help us out! 

Thanks! 

Michelle Hanko
VP Philanthropy
University of Missouri - Alpha Nu

It's Domestic Violence Awareness Month! Learn more about the month, purple ribbons, and what Alpha Chi Omega chapters are doing to make a difference for survivors at http://ow.ly/sRr3. 

We hope you'll add a purple DVA ribbon Twibbon to your Twitter and facebook profile pictures and then help us spread the word to your friends, family and Alpha Chi Omega sisters. Here's how

On Twitter

Tweet a message like this

Support Domestic Violence Awareness, add a #twibbon to your avatar now!  http://bit.ly/3gxzzH #DVA #AXO #charitytuesday

OR

Read Domestic Violence: No Joking Matter on @collegelifestyl http://ow.ly/sRyh #AXO #DVA #charitytuesday

OR

Learn more about Domestic Violence Awareness Month! http://ow.ly/sRr3 #AXO #DVA #charitytuesday

On facebook, 

if you add the Twibbon to your profile, Twibbon will automatically update your status. 

OR 

Post one of the above updates as your status. 

On email, share this post with your friends, family and Alpha Chi sisters.

Thank you for everything you do to end domestic violence!

See the Presidential Proclamation at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Domestic-Violence-Awareness-Month/

"During this month, we rededicate ourselves to breaking the cycle of violence. By providing young people with education about healthy relationships, and by changing attitudes that support violence, we recognize that domestic violence can be prevented. We must build the capacity of our Nation's victim service providers to reach and serve those in need. We urge community leaders to raise awareness and bring attention to this quiet crisis. And across America, we encourage victims and their families to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. Together, we must ensure that, in America, no victim of domestic violence ever struggles alone."

See the Department of Justice Press Release at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-ag-1066.html 

"On September 14, 2009, the Department of Justice marked the fifteenth anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the creation of its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The department has kicked-off a year-long effort to raise public awareness, build stronger coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal communities, and redouble efforts to end domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking for men, women and children across the country."

In our communities and on our college campuses, Alpha Chi Omegas are making a difference for survivors of domestic violence. See the My Alpha Chi message boards for daily updates of Alpha Chi chapters in the news for their domestic violence awareness projects this month at http://www.alphachiomega.org/myaxo_index3.aspx?pgnm=messageboards&g=posts&t=1185

On that post you'll also see the origin of the purple ribbon as a symbol for the domestic violence awareness movement. Remember this month to wear a purple ribbon! You can wear one on your social media profiles too! 

To add a purple DVA ribbon to your Twitter profile picture, go to http://twibbon.com/join/Domestic-Violence-Awareness-2

To add a purple DVA ribbon to your facebook profile picture, visit http://twibbon.com/join/Domestic-Violence-Awareness-2/facebook

I hope you'll also take a minute to read and comment on an interview I did with Patrice Basso (Delta Chi, William Woods) for a blog post on College Lifestyles: Domestic Violence: No Joking Matter. Patrice asked really insightful questions! I enjoyed talking with her. I feel like I've learned so much in the process of helping create the weekly online philanthropy project, and hope you'll learn something new as well! http://collegelifestyles.org/?p=3911

Loyally,

@amy_z

Are you ready for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October? Each week in September, look for a new easy way to prepare! Thank you @CauseShoppe for bringing today's project to our attention!

Our fifth suggestion is to go shopping! From October 1st to 15th, Marshalls will donate a portion of the proceeds from every shoe purchase to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, up to $150,000. Read all about it  http://ow.ly/rwDA  and then make your plans! 

We'd love it if you'd help us spread the word to your friends, family and Alpha Chi Omega sisters! Here's how:

On Twitter, tweet a message like this:

Plan ahead for Domestic Violence Awareness Month! http://ow.ly/rwDA #AXO #charitytuesday

OR

Buying shoes at @Marshalls Oct 1-15 benefits Nat'l Domestic Violence Hotline. http://ow.ly/rwDA #AXO #charitytuesday

OR 

End Domestic Violence: Shop Til It Stops at @Marshalls Oct 1-15 http://ow.ly/rwDA #AXO #charitytuesday

AND

Follow @NDVH and @Marshalls

On facebook,

post a link to  http://ow.ly/rwDA  or use one of the tweets above as your status!

AND

Be a fan of the National Domestic Violence Hotline  http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Domestic-Violence-Hotline/106201870487

Check out the facebook event (emceed by Tim Gunn) at the Santa Monica Marshalls to kick off the Shop Til It Stops campaign: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156496465688

On email, send a link to this post http://ow.ly/rwJL  to your friends, family members and Alpha Chi Omega sisters.

Thank you for being a part of this week's virtual philanthropy project!