V-Day raises record amount to benefit groups combating violence against women

2:10 p.m., March 18, 2004--Performances of “The Vagina Monologues” during UD’s fifth annual V-Day event broke all its records for fundraising, raising $29,000 for organizations whose primary mission is to combat violence against women and to advance the status of women.

According Jennifer Guise Schladen, V-Day producer, the Panhellenic Council donated $5,000 to sponsor “The Vagina Monologues”; $15,000 was raised in ticket sales during the three-day run March 10-12 on the campus; $4,000 was raised by the sale of merchandise and audience donations; and $3,000 was raised through promotional events the month before the event. The $29,000 total, which also includes money raised from other sources, exceeds the total of $20,000 generated over the past four years, she said.

According to Shael Norris, college campaign director for V-Day, “This is V-day’s mission and dream: to see college students create this kind of support in their community. It not only raises awareness for thousands of people in the area but also changes the scope of what the local recipients of this money are able to achieve within the community.”

This year’s recipients are Emmaus House, the Delaware Women’s Conference and the V-Day Spotlight on the Missing and Murdered Women of Juarez, Mexico.

V-Day is part of an international campaign to end violence against women. In the past six weeks, “The Vagina Monologues” has been performed on more than 600 college campuses, and 350 performances were produced by community-based organizations. In the six-year history of the college campaign, $4.3 million has been raised.

Other UD groups sponsoring V-Day included Students Acting for Gender Equality, HAVEN, Men Against Rape Society, the Department of Chemical Engineering, Gamma Sigma Sigma, the Not Quite Ready for Bed Players, the Golden Blues, Vocal Point, the Deltones, the Black Student Association dance troupe and Hillel. V-Day also was sponsored by several local and national businesses.

Article by Sue Moncure

E-mail this article

To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here.