Join Rape Victim Advocates, VDay, A Long Walk Home, Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Voices and Faces Project, Amnesty International, CAASE, Loyola University Chicago, the Womens Center at DePaul University, Women Employed, Between Friends Chicago, Deborahs Place, other sister anti-violence organizations and your fellow Chicagoans as we Show Our Love on February 14, 2013 as part of the global One Billion Rising!  

Chicago Rising is a collaborative celebration of V-Days One Billion Rising (OBR) and a call to action to end gender-based violence against women and LGBTQ people.  

Dance Rally is at noon at Daley Plaza, featuring a flash mob of Break the Chain with red scarf-adorned community dancers and performances by A Long Walk Homes Girl/Friends and C.C. Carter.

Daytime Dance Party is from 1-6 pm at the River East Arts Center, 435 E. Illinois Street featuring booty shaking, body loving fun with: Cheerobix, BeMoved, Psalm One, DJ All the Way Kay, the Fabulous Ladies of Fitness (FLOF), KOKUMO, a "Power of the Mic" panel discussion, Spudnik Press, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon, the Windy City Rollers, and many more. Updates everyday!! All ages/bodies/expressions welcome. 

Break the Chain, a song written for OBR (can be downloaded at https://soundcloud.com/vday/break-the-chain ).  To get a head start, see the YouTube tutorial on the Break the Chain choreography at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRU1xmBwUeA&feature=youtu.be .  If you would like to learn the choreography and use a wheelchair, you can see the tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rYjWFXnlMI

Social Media:  We encourage you to share your participation via social media.  
o    On Facebook:  Join the One Billion Rising Chicago community page https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-Rising-Chicago/474515005939840?fref=ts
o    On Twitter: Use the hashtags #ChicagoRising and #1billionrising

We will be handing out valentines with messages about ending violence against women and LGBTQ people, videotaping testimonials of why people are dancing/rising, etc.

Keep RISING and get INVOLVED!

As much as One Billion Rising is a celebration, it is also a call to action.  Our rising does not end on February 14, 2013!  Show your love, and continue rising to end sexual and domestic violence:

VOLUNTEER Volunteers do everything from providing crisis response in hospital emergency rooms, answering hotlines, and leading violence prevention workshops to organizing fundraisers and raising awareness.   Your time and energy can make real and lasting change.

DONATE Organizations supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence depend on the generosity of the communities they serve.  Your donation could be life-saving.  Consider donating your professional skills as well as financial donations to support the mission to end sexual and domestic violence.

SPREAD THE WORD Help raise awareness of sexual and domestic violence, and dispel the myths.  Connect organizations that do this work to your house of worship, your kids school, your roller derby team, your knitting circle, your block club, your alumni network violence prevention and education can make a difference at any age.

TAKE A STAND You are powerful, and you CAN make a difference.  Be an active bystander, believe victims, get informed, talk to young people in your life about sexual and domestic violence, tell your elected officials and community leaders to treat sexual and domestic violence as a priority, expect (and give) respect!

For immediate help, 24 hours a day:

State of Illinois Domestic Violence Helpline 1.877.863.6338

Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline 1.888.293.2080

Organizations that are RISING:

RAPE VICTIM ADVOCATES (RVA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the healing and empowerment of sexual assault survivors through non-judgmental crisis intervention counseling, individual and group counseling, and medical and legal advocacy in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. RVA provides public education and institutional advocacy in order to improve the treatment of sexual assault survivors and to effect positive change in policies and public attitudes toward sexual assault.  Learn more on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rape-Victim-Advocates/54224063629 or at www.rapevictimadvocates.org

V-Dayis a global activist movement lead by Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery.  Learn more at www.vday.org

More organizations that are rising:

A Long Walk Home

Amnesty International

Between Friends

CAASE

Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media

Voices and Faces Project

Womens Center at DePaul University

Windy City Rollers

YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago