Cecil Williams and the Crowdfunding Phenomenon

You'd have to be living under a rock not to have heard the uplifting story of Cecil Williams and his seeing-eye dog, Orlando. When Mr. Williams fainted the other day and fell from the platform onto the tracks while waiting for a train, his dog went after him. They were both hit by the oncoming train but not seriously hurt. What touched the heart of thousands was the sad aside to the story-Orlando was about to be retired because of his age and insurance wouldn't pay to allow Mr. Williams to keep him. Within 48 hours of the story being aired on the national news, two crowd funding sites-Indiegogo and GoFundMe had raised more than $120,000 on their behalf.
Crowd Funding, for the uninitiated is a fairly new way to raise money for a variety of worthy causes and as you can see, lots of money is raised in small amounts from many donors. Please visit the link below to help us fund our project on Global Giving.


http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/a-night-out-for-350-domestic-violence-victims/?utm_content=Your%20project%20has%20been%20approved!&utm_campaign=project-approved&utm_source=email2.globalgiving.org&utm_term=No%20Test%20Cell&utm_medium=email

ANO's 1st Holiday Party

Our founders, Marla Mogul and Alan Weintraub address the troops last night at Francesca's on Bryn Mawr at our first holiday party. We enjoyed great food and drinks and celebrated our first year in business. We all share the wish that this first party be the smallest party we ever have and that we continue to grow and be able to help an ever-larger group of women. Happy Holidays to all of our supporters.

Survivor of Abuse Posts Craigslist Ad Looking to Rent a Family Through the Holidays

The ad reads, “I am looking to rent a mom and dad who can give me attention and make me feel like the light of their life just for a couple of days because I really need it,” reported Stockton’s News10. Turner offered to pay $8 an hour.

This story broke our hearts and we wanted to share it. The holidays can be a very tough time for victims of abuse who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without the love and support of family. The good news is, this woman heard from many people who wanted to share their holidays with her.


http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/abuse-survivor-tries-to-rent-family-on-craigslist-dozens-of

Please Check Out our Project on Global Giving

Please consider participating in our fundraising drive on the globalgiving.org website. We are trying to raise money for our 2014 events and we hope all our friends will consider making a donation-even one as small as $10 will provide snacks for five of the children we look after so that their mothers can attend one of out events.

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/a-night-out-for-350-domestic-violence-victims/?-approved

Chicago's biggest DV booster happens to be our mayor!

December 3, 2013 at 3:45pm

Those of us in the domestic violence community already know that Mayor Rahm Emanuel feels passionately for its victims.  Earlier this year, he was instrumental in seeing that a $1.8M settlement the city received from a recently resolved legal battle with a strip club would be earmarked for a new domestic violence shelter.  The dedication and groundbreaking, attended by Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Dick Durbin took place last month for the first shelter to be built in Chicago in more than a decade.
Now comes word that he is creating a intergovernmental task force to specifically address domestic violence. His office will be partnering with the police department, Cook County State's Attorney's office, the department of Family and Support Services and other advocacy groups in a collaborative effort to save lives.

Today is Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday, a movement created by New York's 92Y, bringing 139 years of community outreach and partnered with the United Nations Foundation. We at A Night Out are offering three ways to give to our organization:

1. please visit our donate page at http://anightout.org/

2.Click the donate button on our Facebook page

3. visit our project page on Global Giving:

 http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/a-night-out-for-350-domestic-violence-victims/?utm_content=Your%20project%20has%20been%20approved!&utm_campaign=project-approved&utm_source=email2.globalgiving.org&utm_term=No%20Test%20Cell&utm_medium=email