#BluegrassToBostonForSurvivors
I've qualified for the Boston Marathon, held on April 18, 2016, and I'm dedicating my race to survivors of intimate partner abuse.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, every 9 seconds in the US, a woman is assaulted or beaten and 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.
This is not okay. We must do something about it. As a human I feel a responsibility to get involved but as a man, I feel a special duty to step up and act. We spend way too much time and money teaching women not to get abused, assaulted, and raped and not nearly enough teaching men to not abuse, assault, and rape.
As those statistics allude to, the magniture of this issue can overwhelm anyone wanting to get involved. It can leave us struggling to know how to even take a first step.
Fortunately there is an incredible agency that has been taking those first steps--and many subsequent steps--for years. GreenHouse17 is an advocacy agency committed to ending intimate partner abuse in families and the community.
I want to help this special agency by raising money to help them continue protecting survivors of intimate partner abuse. One of the best ways I can do that is by raising funds for them to continue running their shelter, providing safety for their residents, and advocating for survivors everywhere.
My goal is $1,020. A very specific amount for a very specific reason.
$1,020 would be $1 a day for every survivor of intimate partner abuse who will find safety and healing at the GreenHouse17 emergency shelter during the month of April.
On average, each day GreenHouse17 provides safe emergency shelter and supportive services for 34 adults and their children who are surviving intimate partner abuse in central Kentucky. In April, when the Boston Marathon runs, survivors will collectively experience 1020 days of safety and healing at the agency's emergency shelter and on the beautiful farm that surrounds it.
Please join me in rallying together for survivors of intimate partner abuse and supporting GreenHouse17 by sharing this and donating any amount you can.
