Mick Foley Teams Up With RAINN

Pro wrestler Mick Foley has teamed up with RAINN to combat sexual violence. While visiting RAINN’s offices last December, he and his wife Colette announced that they would be donating half of the advance royalties from his upcoming memoir, “Countdown to Lockdown,” to RAINN. The other half, as he revealed on his blog will be going to help victims of sexual violence in Sierra Leone. Additionally, Mick has joined RAINN’s National Leadership Council and is training to be Online Hotline volunteer.

Lest you think this has nothing to do with Tori, Mick addresses the origins of his friendship with her in the memoir (that’s Mick and Colette in the photograph with Tori lifted from RAINN’s site), slated to be published in the Fall of 2010.

Thanks to Alex F, Gary and toritattoo for the tip!

Open Auditions For "The Vagina Monologues" In Connecticut

Temple Symonds is producing a performance of The Vagina Monologues in February 2010 in Glastonbury, CT, to benefit RAINN. Auditions are being held Sunday, December 6th, 2009.

Until the Violence Stops

When Temple Symonds was 21, she didn’t know that being forced to the ground and screamed at was abuse. “I knew it wasn’t normal behavior, but I didn’t call it abuse. I just knew I had to get out of there.”

Inspired by her twelve-year journey to understand the impact of abuse on her life, the yoga instructor is producing The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler at Sacred Rivers Yoga in Glastonbury, CT on February 13, 2010. The play is renowned for it’s inspirational impact in the fight against violence against women.

Symonds sees producing the play as an opportunity to help take the shame out of being abused. “By owning our experiences,” she said, “we can move past them and transform them into strong foundations for growth.”

Open auditions for sixteen female readers will be on Sunday December 6th, 2009 from 6-8 pm at Sacred Rivers Yoga. Auditions will consist of reading from the script and group exercises. Additionally, there are opportunities for men and women to volunteer behind-the-scenes for this fundraiser for RAINN (Rape and Incest National Network). For further information, contact Temple Symonds.

RAINN Over Houston

RAINN Over Houston is a concert benefiting RAINN that will be held in Houston in June 2009. The ambitious event, with a goal of raising $100,000 for RAINN, is being organized by local singer/songwriter Jennifer Grassman and her efforts so far have earned her a commendation from Tori. Congratulations to her!

Undented wishes Jennifer the best of luck in making this event a success and encourages anyone who can to help her out! Make a donation, join their E-Team, or just offer support by staying informed on their website or on Myspace.

And if you’re organizing a RAINN benefit and need help spreading the word, we’re more than happy to give you a plug here — just let us know.

Thanks to Agatha and Xavier for bringing this to our attention!

The 2009 RAINN Calendar Takes Shape

In addition to taking the time to listen to the Indie Spinner Rack podcast, DavidMackGuide.com also breaks some news about RAINN’s 2009 Tori Amos Calendar, which they briefly mentioned in a previous update:

The new Tori Amos calendar for 2009 features such top shelf comic talent as Dan Brereton, Lee Moyer, David Mack, and Mike Dringenberg, as well as illustrators such as Kazuhiko Sano and Sterling Hundley. Don’t miss your opportunity to order this stunning calendar, benefiting RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network). Includes a bonus poster by Lee Moyer.

Quite a cadre of talent, so it should be good! Per his production schedule, it’s expected to become available in June. Thanks again to David Thornton!

Note: Kyle Webster’s contribution to the 2009 calendar has been available for purchase from ImageKind.com since late last December — we must have missed that in the hub-bub of the holidays and tour recuperation period. Mea culpa!

Bloggers to Support RAINN

Sexography author Carly Milne, blogger Kevin Apgar and others are launching a monthlong blogathon in support of RAINN’s campaign to establish a 24-hour/seven-day-a-week toll-free hotline. The month in question is April, also known as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Bloggers who want to participate in order to raise money should swing on over to Kevin’s blog and read up on what they’re looking for. Among other things, if you participate, you get to use this spiffy icon on your blog.

Blueberry Girl Book Nearly Finished

Charles Vess reported recently that he’s nearly finished with the artwork for Blueberry Girl, which some of you may remember as the poem Neil Gaiman wrote for Tash. Work on the book began in early 2005; now Vess reports that “I’ll be finished with the paintings by the end of this month and then it will be a necessarily long wait for the actual book to be published.” Neil reported in February 2005 that proceeds from the book would raise money for RAINN and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Click the thumbnail above to see a larger image from the book, and go to Vess’ site to see several sketches and finished panels. Many thanks to rainonwater for the tip!

The 2008 Tori Amos RAINN Benefit Calendar

The 2008 Tori Amos RAINN Benefit Calendar is now available from RAINN’s store! This yearly tradition is an excellent way to support the United States’ largest anti-sexual assault organization, which Tori helped found. The calendar includes an extra month and features a poster-sized centerfold image and, as always, is a limited edition.

Thanks to Kat for the tip!

RAINN Gets Donations Through Online Fair

Revolution Health is currently holding an online mental-health fair where visitors can go to the site and visit various “booths” to find out more and donate money. One of the virtual booths belongs to RAINN, which gets 25 cents for every click.

2007 RAINN Benefit Concert Series

20-Something Women Strike Up The Bands Refusing To Be Silent About Sexual Assault

Shawn Mullins, Rachel Sage, Ari Hest And More Headline Shows To Combat Sexual Assault And Empower Survivors

Procees To Fund Innovative ‘Chat-Style’ Hotline At RAINN.Org

Nashville TN – Nashville residents Andrea Kleid and Jenn Brinn have both been impacted by the reality of sexual assault in their lives. Through that experience both women had come to know and support the organization RAINN, (Rape Abuse Incest National Network). When the two met, it became clear that they had much more in common than their affiliation with the RAINN organization; both women also work in the music industry and share a passion for music and its affect on humankind. It was this shared passion of using music to change the world one song at a time along with the understanding of the power of music that brought them together in 2006 to create PixieVoice Promotions and launch the inaugural RAINN Benefit Concert Tour to educate and empower survivors of sexual assault….

read more...

Buy an LJ Account, Support RAINN

Livejournal, the blogging community, is doing a rare sale of permanent accounts, starting today (June 21st) and ending June 28. However, for the first 36 hours (as in, right now), $25 from each sale of a $150 permanent account will go toward one of four charity organizations, including RAINN (the other three are Witness, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Creative Commons). Proceeds will be split evenly between the four, so you can’t or you can pick where your money goes. This may not be impetus to join LJ for the first time, but if you’re already a member, it’s something to keep in mind.