Sexual and domestic violence free communities? Let’s do it!
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During the month of February, Black Dirt Farm and our egg retailers are banding together to raising funds and awareness for the prevention of sexual and domestic violence.
But we’re also putting out a call to action.
Every day we have the opportunity to take action to make our communities safer, healthier, and more inclusive.
We can speak up when we hear someone using language that is charged, disrespectful, or abusive.
We can offer confidential support to someone who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence.
We can offer confidential support to someone who we’re concerned might be a victim.
We can facilitate dialogue around domestic and sexual violence to raise awareness and begin to push out the culture that perpetuates it.
We can examine and recognize our own role in prevention and consider the constellation of moments when our intervention can make a difference.
If you want to take action but are unsure where to start, consider organizing a violence prevention training in your workplace, school, place of worship, or community center.
Last October, we organized a Bystander Intervention Training session at Black Dirt Farm through AWARE. A trainer came to the farm and met with our whole crew for several hours. Our conversation helped us better understand the issues and what gives rise to them on a personal and community level. We shared our own experiences and stories and discussed positive and negative ways of intervening in various situations.
Every one of us could share a relative story. And we could all think of scenarios when we had concerns but didn’t know how to reach out or how to help. It was a powerful way to spend the morning together.
Here are resources you can call on to arrange a training in your community:
AWARE www.awarevt.org
CIRCLE www.circlevt.org
CLARINA HOWARD NICHOLS CENTER www.clarina.org
VERMONT NETWORK www.vtnetwork.org
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THE PINK CARTON CAMPAIGN // Throughout the month of February, Black Dirt Farm and our egg retailers band together on the Pink Carton Campaign. BDF Egg are packaged in pink cartons and sent out with a message inside: Together, we can prevent sexual and domestic violence.
Thank you to our egg retails—Buffalo Mountain Coop, Craftsbury General Store, The Willey’s Store, Hunger Mountain Coop, Farmers to You, Morrisville Coop, The Roots Market—for your support and participation throughout this campaign. Thank you to AWARE, CIRCLE, and the Clarina Howard Nichols Center for your feedback on the campaign and for the work you do daily to make our communities safer and more inclusive. And thank you to Minute Man Press for their support through printing discounts.
Violence has no place in our communities. Together we can end it.