Celebrating one year, and taking on the next!

Hollaback! Des Moines celebrates one year!

Well, the bad news is that street harassment hasn’t gone away. The good news is – neither have we! There is much to be done, but here is a quick recap of what we managed to pull together in our first year:

• Launch Party at Mars Café – In August 2011, we officially launched our web site with food, speakers, and activism as Mars Café (which actually just re-opened this weekend!). We celebrated with approximately 25 members of the community who spoke out against street harassment, largely drawing on their own experiences.
• Iowa Pride Network Leadership Summit – Last October, we brought the good news of Hollaback! to numerous Iowa GSA’s at IPN’s Leadership Summit, which was held at Grinnell College. We were excited to meet with so many youth leaders working to make their campuses safe spaces for LGBTQ students.
• Sexual Assault Advocacy Training – In early November, we partnered with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault to make street harassment part of SAAT programming. Victim advocates work in a variety of settings, and our goal is to collaborate in making Iowa a safer place for their clients and for all women.
• Drake University Presents ‘The Vagina Monologues’ – In February, we worked with Drake University student activists and tabled at their “Vagina Carnival,” prior to three performances of Eve Ensler’s play.
• “Miss Representation” screening with Chrysalis – In March, we partnered with the Chrysalis Foundation to facilitate a screening of the documentary, “Miss Representation.” Site leaders led a brief discussion following the film.

Want to get involved in the magic yet to come? Email dsm@ihollaback.org!

No Responses

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments