 | Message from the Executive Director Dear Friend, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and we invite you to a variety of SAAM events Resilience is hosting to connect with our community. Please save the date for two of our signature events: Breaking the Silence Café on Thursday, April 14, and Standing Silent Witness on Friday, April 29. We can’t wait to see you there! We have even more exciting events planned for you later this spring and summer. If you’re looking for an especially active way to get involved, the Resilience Associate Board is hosting its first-ever Empowerment 5K on Saturday, June 4. On Tuesday, June 7, you are invited to the third annual Celebrating Resilience Luncheon, featuring keynote speaker Marianne Markowitz, President & CEO of First Women's Bank. You can learn more about all of these events and register below. On behalf of Resilience, I wish you a peaceful and bright spring. With gratitude, | |  | Erin Walton
Executive Director
Resilience | | | | Meet Jenny Zale It is important now more than ever to embrace and celebrate what connects us: our resilience. This month, we're shining a spotlight on Jenny Zale, an Associate Board member and Evening of Impact fundraising co-chair. Read our interview with Jenny below. | |  | | | | | April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month Support survivors during SAAM Each April, Resilience hosts our annual SAAM Fundraising Challenge. This challenge was created to raise funds throughout April in support of Resilience's free programs and services for survivors. We hope you will help us reach our fundraising goal of $20,000. Resilience invites you to participate in any way that works for you! Make a gift, create your own fundraiser (view our toolkit for everything you need to know about fundraising), share our messages on social media, or attend one of our events. We're grateful for your support! Events SAAM is one of our busiest and most important times of year. We hope you'll join us for a variety of events that you won’t want to miss! Breaking the Silence Café (Virtual) — Thursday, April 14, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Breaking the Silence is a virtual open mic night for local Chicago artists to share their stories of survival and resistance through poetry, spoken word, and more. We encourage performers of all ages, languages, and backgrounds to stand up against sexual violence. Click here to register for Breaking the Silence Cafe. Denim Day — Wednesday, April 27 Denim Day is a campaign that began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court in which a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim, who was wearing tight jeans, must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Please wear denim, share photos, and tag Resilience on social media (@ResilienceChi)! Standing Silent Witness — Friday, April 29, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (our signature SAAM event!) Federal Plaza, 219 S. Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60604 Join Resilience for our signature SAAM event, back in person this year after two years of being virtual. In a visual demonstration of the silencing of survivors, participants gather silently for one hour wearing t-shirts with stories and messages protesting sexual violence and rape culture. Please join us as we gather on the corner of Dearborn Street and Adams Street next to the U.S. Postal Office building. Register for Standing Silent Witness here. Registration is encouraged but not mandatory to attend. | | | | | |  | Resilience is collaborating with Raygun for a special SAAM t-shirt, and a percentage of proceeds will be donated to Resilience. Click the button below to order a shirt online and have it shipped to you! The shirt reads: Planting the Seeds of Resilience. A world without sexual violence is possible and it starts with us. | | | | | | Uprooting Power Conference Rescheduled Resilience’s conference, Uprooting Power: Cultivating Liberation and a World Without Sexual Violence, will be rescheduled for later in 2022. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to develop our first-ever conference into a thought-provoking, collaborative event where community members can reflect on creating a more equitable, just, and safe society. Uprooting Power will be a comprehensive event, featuring experts speaking about understanding and dismantling systems that have perpetrated violence while turning over new soil to plant seeds for a future without violence. Rescheduling this event means that we can continue expanding our programming to make our first conference the best possible experience for you. We look forward to announcing a new date soon. Because we are so excited to hear from incredible, young, BIPOC organizers and change-makers in the field of survivor support, we will be kicking off the conversation with a special Instagram Live conversation soon. Stay tuned to our social media for details on this. We will update you with news about Uprooting Power as soon as we can. Thank you for your continued support and understanding! | | | | You're invited to the Empowerment 5K Saturday, June 4, 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Burnham Park, 1199 E Oakwood Blvd, Chicago, IL 60653 Registration is now open for the Resilience Associate Board's Empowerment 5K! Join us on Saturday, June 4 as we run, walk, and roll together in support of Resilience. This is a family- and dog-friendly event for individuals of all levels. The course is accessible and does not include any stairs. By participating, you will help raise awareness about Resilience and fundraise to support the organization's free services for survivors of sexual assault. Participants will receive a t-shirt and other merch at the finish line. Adult early bird tickets will be available for $40 before April 30. Starting May 1, tickets are $45. Learn more about child pricing and family and group packages at the registration page below. | | | |  | | | | | Join us for the third annual Celebrating Resilience Luncheon Tuesday, June 7, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The University Club of Chicago | |  | The Celebrating Resilience Luncheon is one of Resilience’s premier annual events. Every year, supporters, corporate and community partners, friends, and allies gather to celebrate an exemplary business leader who has demonstrated resilience throughout their career and believes in Resilience’s mission and vision. Please join us on Tuesday, June 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for the third annual Celebrating Resilience Luncheon, featuring keynote speaker Marianne Markowitz, President and CEO of First Women's Bank. First Women’s Bank is the only commercial bank in the country founded, owned, and led by women with a strategic focus on the women’s economy. This in-person event will take place at the University Club of Chicago. We hope you will join us in person for this special and exclusive event. Registration is now open! Interested in sponsoring the Celebrating Resilience Luncheon? Learn more here. | | | | | | Become a Volunteer Medical Advocate | |  | Resilience is searching for our next training class of volunteer medical advocates. The deadline to apply for our Summer 2022 volunteer training is June 29. An orientation session (by invitation only) will be held in July, and the training will take place in July and August. To learn more about our volunteer program, click here. | | | | Interested in becoming a volunteer medical advocate later instead? The deadline to apply for our Fall 2022 training is September 28. | | | | | | Join the Resilience Associate Board Are you looking for a way to give back and volunteer for a meaningful cause? Join the Resilience Associate Board, an engaged and active community dedicated to supporting Resilience! Associate Board members make a two-year commitment, attend quarterly meetings, and join a committee that meets monthly to work on specific projects in support of Resilience. The Associate Board is looking for new members now! The application process includes an online application and interview. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact Membership Co-Chair Ashlee Krawczyk at akrawczyk1418@gmail.com with any questions about Associate Board commitments. | | | |  | Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in Higher Education Trainings – Virtual Friday, May 27, 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. via Zoom This virtual training is intended for higher education professionals providing student survivor support or responding to student disclosures of sexual or domestic violence. We will provide an in-depth look at identifying and understanding sexual and intimate partner violence, stalking, and domestic violence. Participants will explore the impact of trauma and trauma responses, as well as legal and medical options for survivors. | | | | | | 40-Hour Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Training – Virtual June 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, and 16, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. via Zoom To assist local higher education institutions in ensuring compliance with the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, Resilience offers a 40-hour training specifically designed for Confidential Advisors. Resilience has an extensive history of working with higher education institutions, providing student support, policy consultation, technical assistance, training, and prevention education to 13 Chicago-area higher education institutions. Seats are limited. CEUs available. Questions? Reach out to Maggie Arthur at marthur@ourresilience.org or 872-356-8215. | | | | | | Support Groups Our Women of Color support group is back! It will be running from April 7 through June 2. Additionally, our Men's Support Group will also return, running from April 18 through June 6. To learn more about trauma therapy support groups, please contact Reneé Miranda-Beristain, LCPC, NCC, Clinical and Internship Supervisor. | | | | Work with Us! Resilience is Hiring Resilience is looking for new talent to join our ranks in support of survivors of sexual violence. The following positions are currently open: To learn more about careers at Resilience, click here. Know someone who might be a good fit? Send them this email! | | | | | | | | Resilience
180 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 600 | Chicago, Illinois 60601
312-443-9603 | info@ourresilience.org | | | | | | | | | | | |
