Walk to End Family and Sexual Violence

One of the easiest ways to raise awareness and money for causes you care about and get in a little private time is to walk. Yep…slip on your favorite tennies (or elevenies in my case!!), grab your favorite rockin’ tunes, put one foot in front of the other and walk. Fall is the perfect time to walk so there are quite literally hundreds of charity walks/runs to choose from.  Once you’ve found a walk, last month’s post We’re walking…we’re walking…and we’re raising money by walking will help with suggestions on organizing a team, brainstorming for a cook name and links to fundraising ideas.

In addition to Breast Cancer awareness, October is Domestic Violence awareness month.  One in three women has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime. To help you find a walk, I did a little research and here are just a few of the walks around the country dedicated to Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention:

• October 3, 2009      Rochester, MI    Walk to Stop DV MAI Family Services
• October 4, 2009      Downers Grove, IL    2009 5K Walk/Run – Family Shelter Services
• October 10, 2009   Salem, OR 2009    DV Awareness Walk/Run
• October 10, 2009    Miami FL Annual    DV Awareness Walk and Expo
• October 17, 2009    Kent, WA      Stepping out to stop DV in South King County
• October 25, 2009    Virginia Beach,VA     Samaritan House’s De-Feet DV 5K Run/Walk
• November 8, 2009  Phoenix, AZ      Phoenix Walk to End Domestic Violence

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes – The international Men’s march to stop sexualized violence
Walks are scheduled around the country. Check their Walk Calendar for dates and locations nearest you.  I love this!

“First you Walk the Walk. There is an old saying: “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. It’s not easy walking in these shoes, but it’s fun and it gets the community to talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about – sexual violence.”   

If you would prefer your walk to include time chasing a little white ball, consider the Avon: Changing the Course of Domestic Violence Golf Tourney w/PGA Tour

Where do you walk and who do you walk for?  What's the one song that ALWAYS gets you moving?  Please share your favorites!

Tommorow's post will have the listings for Breast Cancer walks.