OVER 100 Members of Congress Support Funding for SASP!

The Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) was authorized in the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA) and for the first time, provides a direct and dedicated funding stream for rape crisis centers.

Although funding for fiscal year 2007 is yet to be finalized, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Rob Portman, has heard from a bipartisan group of 110 Members of Congress expressing support for funding the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) at its authorized level of $50 million in FY 2008.

The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) and their partners have been hard at work crafting strategies and building support for SASP that will provide much needed funding this year and in the future. OMB is a crucial piece of this puzzle, as they impact greatly how much money is asked for from each federal department each year. The amount of funding asked for sends clear signals to those in Congress who actually vote on funding months later. Achieving an "ask" of $50 million which would appear in the President's proposed budget to Congress next year would be a tremendous victory and signal strong support for the program.
To view the letter: www.naesv.org/News/OMB06.pdf

I viewed the letter and carefully looked over the signatures and much to my disappointment did not see my State Representative’s name. Shame on you Adam. Mr. Putnam will be getting a letter from me very soon. If you would like to contact your Representative, follow this quick link: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

With all this holiday free time we might as well dabble in some politics, right?
Happy Holidays!
Kelly

Help the planet via free light bulbs!

Between 12/7/06 and 12/21/06 you can purchase 4 packs of compact fluorescent light bulbs at Lowes for $7.98, with a rebate of $7.98 per pack. This means FREE light bulbs.

Why are these light bulbs so great? They will save you money on your electric bill because they are very efficient (use a quarter of the power an incandescent bulb uses), they last up to eight times longer than inefficient incandescent light bulbs, and their efficiency saves energy created by coal burning power plants that pollute our air. The best lights to replace are the ones you use the most often while at home.

A link to the rebate coupon is below for 4-packs of 60-watt "Sylvania Mini Twist Lightbulbs" Item #146558. There is a limit of TWO 4-packs per household.

*Rebates must be postmarked by 1/21/07.*

http://www.lowespromos.com/PDFs/1327-2.pdf

Peace-
Becca and Kelly

Unite for Change

I hope you can feel our excitement as I type this. Kelly and I have unveiled the first phase of our campaign, Unite for Change and we could not be more pleased. When you can, please check out our site www.UniteForChange.com and learn more about our latest effort to end sexual violence. We welcome your feedback. We hope to complete the site within two weeks so let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Much love now and always-

Becca (and Kelly)


Life is best if lived without fear but with awareness.

Still recovering from Katrina

While we were in New Orleans, we drove accross the LA/ MS stateline to see how Bay St. Louis was recovering after Katrina and to pay our respects so to speak. The photo above made my heart melt. (The board on the tree reads: Please protect tree, planted by grandson.) This photo captures the cry for help and the chance for hope that can be felt throughout the Katrina stricken region.

New Spray-on Condom: A Car Wash for your Penis

It was almost exactly a year ago today that the world’s first “spray on condom” hit the market in China. The product, which was called the Nanometer-silver Cryptomorphic Condom (NCC) was actually a spray for women, which coated the inside of the vagina and created a “physical membrane” that prevented fluid transmission and provided contraceptive and disease prevention.

Yesterday’s LA Times reported on a new venture, by a German company, to develop a spray on male condom. The product, which is both described and illustrated on the company’s website http://www.vinico.de/home/index.php actually sounds a little like spray-on tanning, but for your penis. It is a canister that you insert your penis into, and then latex is sprayed onto the penis, forming a condom around it.

Jan Vinzenz Krause from the Institute for Condom Consultancy who is developing the concept explains:

"It works by spraying on latex from nozzles on all sides," he said. "We call it the '360 degree procedure' - once round and from top to bottom. It's a bit like a car wash."It’s an interesting concept, and at a projected $13 for 20 applications, it would be a surprisingly inexpensive condom product. But it sounds like a product that would be unlikely to ever make it to the North American market, both for financial and safety reasons.

To develop an inexpensive mechanism that could evenly spray latex consistently without clogging would be a challenge. And the fact that each condom is made “live” raises questions as to how the failure rate be determined and evaluated. In North America there is an acceptable failure rate for products like condoms and surgical gloves. The FDA would need some way of determining the quality of the condoms, and it’s not clear how they would be able to test this affordably.

Finally, given the fact that both men and women say lack of spontaneity is a reason for not using condoms, one has to wonder how “hold on honey, I just need to spray on my protection” will go over.

Read more – LA Times: German sex educators plan spray-on condom

Related - About Contraception

Source- Cory Silverberg About.com

Quack Attack!

Kelly, Tiffany, Hart and Becca at the SWAT (Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team) table after the program.

Our last gig of 2006 was at the University of Oregon in Eugene...the Ducks. Quack attack! That's so much fun to say. What a beautiful part of the country and gorgeous campus! We really enjoyed spending time with our fabulous hosts, Tiffany and Hart, the VP's of Education for Panhellenic and IFC. Thanks for the great conversation, campus tour and delicious dinner guys. While we were on campus we had a chance to meet with Sheryl Eyster, AVP of Student Life and she told us about some of the Sexual Violence and Prevention Education programs in place at the University of Oregon. Very progressive stuff. Kudos to Sheryl, her staff and students on your work to end sexual violence!
The Ducks were very good to us. This was our last gig of the semester and another reminder of how totally lucky we are to have what we consider to be the best jobs ever. We're looking forward to a little winter break and time to get things moving with the new campign we're launching (details soon to come) then it's happy travels next semester!
A west coast sign off,
K & B

We "heart" Richard Simmons!

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. This morning, we were in Portland hanging out in our hotel room watching the TODAY Show and a perfect day had officially begun and it’s all because of Richard. Richard Simmons! Who doesn’t love Richard Simmons?! Bless his fuzzy afro having, silky sporty-shorts and super scoop tank top wearing self! A snow flake rhinestone tank top no less. How seasonally appropriate of him, but that’s not the best part. The part that brought a smile to our face, laughter to our bellies and even tears to our eyes was when Richard began dancing to Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake. WOW, my friends, wow. He invited Al Roker, Ann Curry and Natalie Morales to join in…and they did! It was awesome. The entire crowd was sweat’n to the oldies pseudo hip hop style. This was truly a sight to be seen and the perfect way to start off our day. Thank you TODAY Show and thank you Richard!

PS- Crazy free-style dancing aside, the segment was very touching. Richard Simmons is working on a campaign to BRING PHYSICAL FITNESS BACK TO OUR SCHOOLS! He created a National survey that will help find out what's happening in schools today and he plans to compile the information received and take it to Washington to share with the only people who can make the needed changes: the men and women in our government. If you would like to help out, check out the survey by going to http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey.zgi?p=WEB225QLXH5W87 and filling out the questionnaire.
Keep on Dancing!
K & B

Dove Campaign

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home_films_evolution_v2.swf

Check out this link from the Dove Campaign and watch the mini clip. An extremely thought provoking and painfully real moment. This makes me want to go out and buy some Dove body wash to help support the cause! : )
You are beautiful my sisters, just as you are! Hope you're having a gorgeous day.

Kelly

Stop Breast Cancer for Life!

Stop Breast Cancer for Life! Get informed. Spread the word. Make a difference.

Sign the petition - http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

For additional information regarding legitimacy of this effort, see http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/mastectomy.asp .


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Mastectomy Hospital Bill in Congress

If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women (and men) the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Mastectomy Bill in Congress

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important...please take the time and do it really quick!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where patients are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html

This takes about two seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women and men, THANKS.

Wingate University

Some days are simply awesome...and that was the case when we rolled into Wingate University. The staff, the students are simply amazing. We met so many incredible folks on this visit including our Alpha Gamma Delta sister Christine as well as our new home girl Jessica. As always, it is an honor to do this work but this campus made today day particularly memorable.

Always-
Becca and Kelly

Kick'n it with the Wolf Pack

We had a chance to visit one of our favorite states and meet some really amazing athletes. It was an honor to work with the female athletes at NC State, fondly referred to as the lady wolfpack. These women play hard! Several of them came to the program with giant ice packs taped to their limbs, ace bandages wrapped around their ankles and knees, and one of them was sporting a new pair of crutches. Woah! That's serious sport my friends and probably one of the reasons collegiate team sport never found its way into my life, that and my lack of athletic coordination and skill, not to mention my on-again-off-again relationship with the gym. I admire them for their dedication! Thank you so much to our new friends at NC State for coming to our program, bruises and all.
Always,
K & B

How "IT" came to be.

Once upon a time on a road trip to our spiritual home of New Orleans, Louisiana, we pondered our place in life. We asked the question “how are we going to make the world a better place?” A lofty goal, we know, but never short on ambition, we pushed the discussion forward. Kelly, a social worker at the time, had a deep passion for helping others in need. Becca, a theatre major with a flair for the dramatic, needed a creative way to express herself. Together we had a strong commitment to our campus and community…but what was our purpose?

It was there, in the darkness of I-10 west, that we uncovered our mission. One of us is a survivor of sexual assault, the other a supportive best friend. This traumatic experience forever changed our lives and now would give us the chance to make a difference in lives of young people throughout the nation. We recognized the opportunity to share our story and empower students to revolutionize campus climate and culture. Deep down we knew that if we stopped making students feel guilty for being sexually curious or sexually active, we could unite them. Not men against women but together, men and women as a campus community. We believed that if we simply explained what sexual assault is and how we can prevent it, change would occur. So as we crossed the Louisiana state line…Let’s Talk About “IT” was born and this incredible journey began.

3 Day Walk

(My 3 Day Team, "Body Allies" Me, Katie, Lisa, Kim and Debi)
After 3 days and 60 long miles, we still smiled for a photo at the finish line!

I did it, 60 miles in 3 days! After months of training and weeks of worrying and excitement I can’t believe it’s come and gone. As strange as it sounds, it was kind of sad for it all to come to an end. The weather was perfect, the people were awesome, the pit stops were so helpful and even the snacks provided on the route were delish! My feet got some damage for sure. I now have 3 blisters per foot. Ouch. The hardest part: the end of the second day. I have never been more physically exhausted in my entire life. The best part: the extraordinary support from the volunteer crew and folks from the community who came out to show their support. I got so used to people cheering and honking that when I went to the grocery store on Monday and did not get applause, I was slightly disappointed and a little depressed.

The spirit, passion and strength of everyone involved were like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It was truly beautiful. This was an incredible journey. Thank you so much to my friends and family for your amazing support and generosity. I could not have done this without you.

I believe that a cure is within our reach, within our lifetime and with each event complete and every dollar raised, we’re several steps closer to a cure. Three days of walking. Three days of friendships made and stories shared. Three days of blisters and sore muscles. Three days of kindness. Three days of the world the way we wish it could be.

Love and hope,
Kelly

Flashback

Ok, so yesterday I turned 31...so this was really a flashback. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Always-
Becca

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's or Early 90's if
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that
incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles on the big screen..and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of WAX ON, WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.
(some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael
Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks
shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship
bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and
sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of
the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking
around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins
movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49 You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha
Micelli was hot.
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry
brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to
them as "NKOTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL
class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi -SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a bannana clip.
63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
64. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
65 You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!


ROCK ON!!!

Grand...

Courtney(left) and Stephanie(right) with their advisor Jessica(center)

We recently discovered that many things are referred to as "grand" in Michigan and that definitely goes for the Take Back the Night event at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan as well. It was truly an amazing event with so much impact, all put together by one of the coolest group of students we've had the pleasure of meeting. The students involved with Eyes Wide Open at Grand Valley are doing remarkable things for the campus community. It was an honor to work with the students, walk with them in the march and especially to listen to two young survivors speak out for the first time. The standing ovation they recieved from the audience was a sign of the support that could be felt throughout the room. We were deeply moved and inspired by the young ladies who shared their personal stories tonight. You are beautiful, courageous, strong and powerful women. We are so proud of you! Thank you so much for sharing a part of yourself with us.
Forever grateful,
Kelly & Becca