V Day Apex 2009 Joins Global Effort To Stop Violence Against Women And Girls

March 16, 2009 - PRLog -- A group of Apex women and businesses have united to support V-Day 2009, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

On March 13, the 2nd Annual Peak of Good Fashion Show in downtown Apex kicked off a series of fundraising events that have been planned to honor V-Day Apex 2009. Remaining events include two silent auctions and a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. The first silent auction will take place on March 26 at Peak City Grill & Bar in Apex, and the other will be at Amra’s in Raleigh on April 2. Both silent auctions are from 6 to 9 p.m., and are open and free to the public. The grand finale event will be a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues at the Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex April 17 and 18 at 8 p.m.

“I believe an inspired, committed community can together take steps toward preventing violence," says Somer Cooper, a V-Day Apex 2009 Community Organizer.

Eighty percent of the funds raised this year will be donated to the Apex Police Department to build a “soft” interview room where detectives and officers can meet with victims of crimes and their family members in a private, non-threatening environment. The funds will also be used for officer training focused on responding to domestic and sexual violence. Since the new Apex police station is currently undergoing construction, this is the perfect time to raise funds for the creation of this room.

“In this time when we, like all entities, are faced with the effect of an economic downturn, we are most appreciative that local supporters of V-Day, a campaign to end violence against women, are working with our department to enhance our response capabilities in these types of incidents,” says Apex Police Chief Jack Lewis. “We realize that in these very difficult moments, providing a more relaxed and less stressful environment than typically found in a standard interview room or police office can help the healing process begin.”

Construction of the new police facility should wind down in December of this year. “Additional funds may enable us to secure and provide specialized investigative training to our personnel who deal with incidents: both our first responders and the detectives who conduct the follow up investigations,” Chief Lewis says.

V-Day Apex 2009 is proud to be sponsored by Circle of Health International (COHI) (http://www.cohintl.org), an international non-profit with a mission to build the capacity of women's health care professionals in crisis settings. Ten percent of funds raised by V-Day Apex 2009 will be donated to COHI, and 10 percent will be donated to V-Day’s global campaign (http://www.vday.org).

The Peak City Grill & Bar silent auction event details are below. For additional information, visit http://events.vday.org/2009/Community/Apex_(TVM). News about remaining benefits will be released over the next few weeks.

Who: V-Day Apex 2009
What: V-Day Apex 2009 Silent Auction to raise funds for the Apex Police Department for the creation of a “soft” interview room, where detectives and officers can meet with victims of crimes and their family; the funds will also be utilized for officer training focused on responding to domestic and sexual violence.
Where: Peak City Grill & Bar in Downtown Apex
When: March 26, 6 to 9 p.m. (bid sheets will be pulled by 8:30 p.m.)
Admission: Free
Contact: Katie VanBenschoten, (919) 793-5819, katie.vanbenschoten@gmail.com  
Goal: To raise awareness for stopping violence against women and girls; and to raise funds for the Apex Police Department’s “soft” interview room and for officer training.
Sponsored by: Peak City Grill & Bar

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About V-Day: V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2008, over 4000 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls.