April Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention Month Events 2022

Tuesdays in April 2022, Teal Tuesday: Show your support by wearing teal on Tuesdays. Take a picture of yourself all dressed in teal, share it on your favorite social media platform and tag The Women’s Community.

April 2022, Rise Up HUB: During the month of April, the Rise Up HUB will be providing three themed projects in support of Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention Month. Participants may choose to write a note for the Poem in Your Pocket project, decorate their own button pin, or create a miniature children’s book! We welcome everyone to stop by and create! Each day the HUB is open in April – Wednesdays and Fridays from 1-6pm, Saturday 9am-2pm, and Sunday 12pm-5pm. The HUB is located at Lower level of Whitewater Music Hall, 130 1st St., Wausau, WI.

Friday, April 1st, 2022 Wear Blue Day: Show your support for the essential work needed in our community and across the country to ensure a better, safer future for all children. Take a picture of yourself all dressed in blue and share it on your favorite social media platform using the #WearBlueDay2022.

Wednesday, April 6th, 2022 Start by Believing Day: On this day we gather to end the silence and change the way we respond to sexual assault. We Start by Believing. Please join us on social media for information about how you can show support for survivors.  The next step is to speak out.  We invite you to sign a petition to support a victim centered response and show support for victims of sexual assault. To sign a national petition – https://www.startbybelieving.org/call-to-action/

Saturday, April 9th, 2022, 3:00pm, 8^th Annual Dani’s Journey Bowling Event: 9-pin tap, 1 shift at 6:00pm with 36 lanes. Live music from 8:00pm-midnight. For more information about the fundraiser or how to get involved with Dani’s Journey Education Fund, please contact DanisJourney@yahoo.com. Bowling event will be held at Dales Weston Lane, 5902 Schofield Ave., Weston, WI.  Proceeds will go to The Women’s Community to help educate youth about teen dating violence and sexual assault.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 5:30pm, Award Ceremony:  Join us as we recognize outstanding community members for their dedication to supporting survivors of sexual assault. Lights snacks provided. Refreshments may be purchased from Whitewater Music Hall. Join us in partnership with RISE UP after the ceremony to create an art piece for a new mural project.  The event is located at Whitewater Music Hall and Brew Works, 130 1st St., Wausau, WI.  Free and open to the public.

April 18, 2022 at 6:00pm, Sex Offenders – What You Need to Know: Hosted by Marathon County Sexual Assault Intervention Team (MCSAIT) and Marathon County Core Team. Meet members from both teams and get an in depth look on the laws pertaining to sex offender registration, sexually violent person definition, commitments and release. Understand how adult and juvenile sex offenders are monitored in the community, how the community is notified when a sex offender is released into the community, and information surrounding sex offender registry.  Join the Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82831776056?pwd=aVZOc3BkaWtpakpPeUJNK1pIR3lQQT09

Thursday, April 21, 2022, 5:00pm-7:00pm, We Step Into the Light Art Exhibit Open House:  Enjoy art work created by volunteer survivors who collaborated together through We Step Into the Light, a project raising awareness about sexual assault, relationship and gender based violence, and stalking.  Artists are paired with survivors who act as a muse for the art created.  All artwork focuses on celebrating survivors and their ambition, goals, and passions of the survivor.  Food and refreshments will be provided.  Mingle while enjoying art, music and food. A formal presentation on the project and artwork will take place at 6:00pm. The event will be held at UWSP at Wausau, 625 Stewart Ave, Wausau, WI  54401 in the UW Center for Civic Engagement.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2022, Denim Day: A symbolic gesture –Denim Day is an international protest responding to the Italian Supreme Court’s overruling of a rape conviction in 1999. Although the assailant had been found guilty at trial, the Supreme Court argued that because jeans are difficult to remove, the assailant couldn’t have done so without the victim’s help. Sounds outrageous, yet all over the world, women and men who are victims of sexual assault continue to be disbelieved and accused of causing the assault due to their behavior… or fashion sense. Everyone is invited to wear denim no matter where you are, even working remotely from home! We encourage you to wear jeans on this day in support of survivors and bringing awareness to the issue. Post your photo to our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram! #denimday2022

Thursday, April 28^th, 2022 at 4:30pm, A Message from Jessie Community Presentation:  Join us to hear a dynamic speaker with a powerful story.  Buck Blodgett has spoken to hundreds of audiences and we are thrilled to bring him to the community.  He shares the story of his daughter Jessie’s sexual assault and tragic death to inspire and motivate people to be resilient, choose love, and be a voice for change to end violence against women.  The event is free and located at NTC, 1000 Campus Dr., Wausau, WI, Room E101/E102 or Virtual.  Light snacks provided. Sponsors of this presentation are made possible by Dani’s Journey Education Fund and NTC.  To register: https://ntcforms.formstack.com/forms/buck_blodgett_and_a_message_from_jessie 

For more information or how to make a donation to support survivors please visit our website at http://womenscommunity.org/ways-to-help/donate/