Peak City Grill in Apex and Amra’s in Raleigh Silent Auctions Will Raise Funds for V-Day Apex 2009

March 24, 2009 - PRLog -- Organizers of V-Day Apex 2009 are teaming up with Peak City Grill and Bar in Apex and Amra’s in Raleigh to host silent auctions that will raise funds for V-Day 2009, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

The V-Day Apex 2009 auction at Peak City Grill and Bar is this Thursday, March 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. Peak City Grill and Bar is located at 126 North Salem Street in historic downtown Apex. The Amra’s auction will take place Thursday, April 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. Amra’s is located at 106 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. Both silent auctions are free and open to the public, and will offer great prizes for guests to bid on. Additionally, Amra’s auction items were all donated by local artists. There will be door prizes, drink specials and music in addition to the silent auctions.

Items to be auctioned off at Peak City Grill and Bar include gift certificates to spas, salons, jewelry stores and photography studios; gym memberships; personal training sessions; dance classes; paintings; jewelry; home accessories; a signed copy of the inspiration for V-Days past and present, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, and much more.

On March 13, the 2nd Annual Peak of Good Fashion Show in downtown Apex kicked off a series of fundraising events planned to honor V-Day Apex 2009. Following the silent auctions, local actors and organizers will participate in a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues April 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. at the Halle Cultural Arts Center at 237 North Salem Street in historic downtown Apex.

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 and Bar silent auction event details are below. For additional information, visit http://www.vday.org. 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 and 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 and 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.  To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $60 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 6000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic Of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. V-Day was named one of Worth magazine's "100 Best Charities" in 2001 and Marie Claire’s “Top Ten Charities” in 2006. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina. http://www.vday.org.

What is a V-Day  Campaign?
A V-Day Campaign is a catalyst for mobilizing women and men to heighten awareness about violence against women and girls.  By creating this global community, V-Day strives to empower women to find their collective voices and demand an end to the violence that affects one in three women in the U.S and around the world.