Health & Fitness
Dance to End Violence with Hudson River Rising Events on Feb. 9 and Feb. 14
Two February dance events will promote the gathering of ONE BILLION RISING supporters as a "united dancing force of change" to tell the world that violence against women and girls must stop.
Violence against women and girls must stop. The ONE BILLION RISING campaign calls upon our humanity to take action when 1 in 3 women on this planet (more than 1,000,000,000 women and girls) will be beaten or raped during their lifetime.
This sobering and frightening statistic pushes countless people to join the ONE BILLION RISING movement to boldly and definitively state that women and young girls should no longer be subjected to violence and suffering. Millions of concerned and empowered people will “rise up” and dance on Feb. 14, 2013 (V-Day) to end this senseless violence and continual assault on human dignity.
Elyssa Feldman Most, co-producer for Hudson River Rising, calls all of us to reflect upon our inherent and moral obligation to rise up, take a stand, and join their movement to end the violence:
Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We cannot continue to allow this to happen. We cannot continue to blame or shame victims. We cannot continue to justify and qualify violence. Violence against women and girls affects every aspect of society from the home to the workplace. And it has an insidious legacy that imprints deeply for generations. This is why we are RISING. Women who have taken abuse for far too long are saying ENOUGH! The time is now.”
The Hudson River Rising is actively inviting supporters to attend two special activist events being held in Westchester. On February 9, 2013, a dance party benefitting Hope’s Door (a private, non-profit organization based in Pleasantville that assisted 765 victims of domestic violence in the last year) will be held at The Purple Crayon in Hastings-on-Hudson. Ticket prices start at $75. There will be dancing, live entertainment, a 50/50 raffle, an auction and light fare and drinks at the party on Feb. 9. All proceeds will support Hope’s Door initiatives for victim support, safety measures, healing/counseling services, and community education initiatives.
Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Local activist Jana Platina Phipps speaks about how we must realize that this is an issue facing our community, and we must not ignore what is happening all around us:
“Our support of Hope’s Door is a way to localize the mission, a way to reach out to our neighbors and lend a hand as violence has no discrimination of ethnicity or economic class. It affects us all. On a personal level, I want my 9 year old daughter and 3 year old son to live in a world where equality, peace and safety are the norm, not the exception. I also want them to learn that we have an individual responsibility to contribute to a world of non-violence and help our fellow man at every opportunity.”
In the town of Tarrytown on February 14, 2013 at 3:30 pm, please support a moving dance celebration to end violence against women and girls by joining in the positive energy of fellowship and generosity of spirit of thousands of activists and many organizations from 177 countries around the world. This is an exciting and engaging outdoors event for “risers” in Tarrytown on February 14. The “risers” will gather at 2 different locations along Broadway, and then work their way down Main Street to “flash mob” the rising dance on North Washington. After the dance, all will gather at the Set Back Inn.
You can learn the dance by viewing a video at HudsonRiverRising.Eventbrite.com. Have some fun with friends and family practicing the dance and get ready to join your fellow dancing activists at this empowering and energizing "dance" statement to the world! Admission is free for this event. Please note that you need to register for this free event.
Check out HudsonRiverRising.Eventbrite.com for further information about both these Hudson River Rising events and to register.
Talk to your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors about these anti-violence fundraising and awareness events happening right here in Westchester County, and realize that each of us can choose to make a difference in ending the senseless violence happening every day. Get involved, share your voice, dance with determination and become one of the millions in the world who will gather on February 14 to dramatically and loudly through the art and expressiveness of dance "voice" a wordlwide demand for a non-violent world for all.
