OK everyone -

Rain or shine, our march takes place on Saturday, September 12th on the RI Statehouse lawn.  Bring your umbrellas just in case!

Registration begins at 9:00AM and the speaking portion will begin sharply at 10:00AM, with the march taking off at about 10:15!

Led by Providence Police mounted officers, we will march from the statehouse lawn down in front of the Providence Place Mall, walk across the street at the first street light, and march back to the statehouse lawn.  It’s not quite a mile, but it may prove daunting to some of the guys wearing high heels!  (the RI Red Cross will have a First Aid Station on the lawn just in case – bandaids anyone?)

After the march we’ll have our photographer taking photos of groups and our awards will be handed out, and coffee, water & snacks will be provided.

Hope to see you all there – if there are any questions, please contact us at 401.714.2388.

It’s official – Bruce Rutter, CEO of the Rhode Island Red Cross, will be donning a pair of red high heels and joining the march at the RI Statehouse on September 12th to show his support for women affected by violence in our state.  Bruce and I go back a few years, and even though he tells me this will probably incur a trip to the podiatrist, he will be there rain or shine to walk (or as he says, hobble) in the march to show his support!

So, c’mon you guys….join the group and get involved!  Gather a few of your buddies and challenge them to get the most sponsors and create a fun tee shirt for your team to wear – there are prizes for Largest Team, Craziest High Heels, Most Money Raised, and Wildest Outfit.  Who knows?  You could win a prize!

Remember, if you raise $250 you receive a FREE tee shirt.  $500 or more gets you a FREE tee shirt AND a FREE foot massage after the march! 

Log on to our website to download the registration form, brochure and poster and get everyone involved.  March in honor of the women in your lives – your mother, sister, daughter, co-worker – and help us end violence against women in Rhode Island!

We had a planning committee meeting last night and things are really humming along now….SIX WEEKS till our march!

Jae Wylie Willard has signed on as our Volunteer Coordinator, with Megan Andelloux acting as our Media Coordinator, Nancy Rafi as Logistics Coordinator and Candace Breen & Erika Damiani taking over as Speaker Coordinators.  Lots to do but we’ll get it all done!

Speakers signed on so far are Dr. Pablo Rodriguez our emcee for the march, Sargeant William Merandi from the Providence Police Department Special Victims Unit, Ms. Candace Breen from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) and two courageous survivors of sexual assault who will share their stories of survival.

The event will start at 9:00AM with registration tables open to drop off your pledge sheets and money, collect your FREE tee shirt (with $250 of pledges), and your FREE foot massage coupon for after the march (with $500 of pledges).  There will be a shoe cart set up to rent (for $10.00) women’s high heels of all colors (up to men’s size 17!) and a merchandise purchasing area. 

After the speaking portion, which begins at 10:00AM, everyone will march (with men in high heels leading the way!) from the RI statehouse lawn, in front of the Providence Place Mall, across the street, and then back to the statehouse.  This is a bit less than a mile, but let’s get real….we don’t want too many of the guys falling off their shoes and spraining their ankles, right?

After the march we’ll have a refreshment area and some entertainment.  Parking is available all around the statehouse and you can part at the mall for just $1.00.

If you’d like more information, or would like to set up an interview or talk about how you can get more involved, please email nrafi@hotmail.com or call us at 401.714.2388.  And be sure to check out our website for updates HERE

New date for the march – Saturday, September 12th at 10:00AM

RI Statehouse Lawn

Keynote speaker and leader of the march will be

Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, well known Rhode Island activist and women’s health advocate.

March will begin on statehouse lawn and proceed in front of Providence Place Mall and back to statehouse, approximately one mile.  Men will march in women’s high heels, women & children will join them but don’t need to wear heels – we suffer enough already!

Event will include entertainment, food & drink, speaking program, awards ceremony and a few surprises!

To register, log on to www.ricac.org/events

JOIN US on Saturday, October 3rd at 10:00AM in downtown Providence for the first annual

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes march – the men’s march to end sexual assault and domestic violence.

This will be a fundraiser for the RI Crisis Assistance Center

Put Yourself in Her Shoes™

Each year, an ever-increasing number of men, women and their families are joining Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® is a fun opportunity for men to educate the community about a very serious subject and to rally the community to take action to prevent sexualized violence.

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: gender relations and sexual violence.

Then You Talk the Talk

It’s critical to open up communication about sexual violence. While hidden away, it’s immune too cure. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to get people talking. People unfamiliar with it often don’t even want to know it exists. It’s ugly. People that have experienced it themselves want to forget about it. How do you get them talking now, so they can prevent it from happening? And after it’s happened, how do you get them to talk about it so they can recover?

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®  provides several opportunities to get people talking. For preventive education, it helps men better understand and appreciate women’s experiences, thus changing perspectives, helping improve gender relationships and decreasing the potential for violence. For healing, it informs the community that services are available for recovery. It demonstrates that men are willing and able to be courageous partners with women in making the world a safer place

Not Just a Women’s Issue

Sexualized violence does not just affect women. It affects the men who care about them, their families, their friends, their coworkers, and their communities. Sexualized violence is epidemic. Some of the statistics: Every two minutes someone in America is raped. One in six American women are victims of sexual assault. That means someone you know, someone you care about, has been or may become the victim of sexual violence. It may be your mother, your sister, your friend, your girlfriend, your wife, your coworker, or your daughter.

This march is a brilliant exercise in perspective in which men, dedicated to this important cause, will walk a mile in a woman’s shoes. Clad in high heels, the men will march a mile through downtown Providence to raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence.

Women, children, and families are highly encouraged to attend and march!  This march is an opportunity for everyone to show their commitment to this issue and to raise community awareness of our organization and cause.  Women, however, can leave the high heels at home.  You already know how uncomfortable they are.

We realize that by marching you’re already committing to helping our cause and speaking out against sexual violence. You might believe that NO ONE should have to wear high heels and you might wonder why we’re asking you to wear them. We’re asking men to purchase and wear (preferably red) high heels for this march for a couple of reasons.

High heels are one of the myriad of uncomfortable things that our media and pop culture tells women that they should wear. Some like them, some don’t, but most have probably worn them and suffered. This is a chance for men to put on those same shoes and think critically about the ways that we raise men and women differently.

Equally important to making an impact on you, the marcher, is that we be seen and noticed during the march! We want the community to think critically about gender and sexual violence issues even more than we want you to! We want all of Rhode Island to start talking about violence against women – because that’s how things change.

While wearing high heels is optional, we highly recommend you procure shoes and bring them to the march!  If you are unable to find any that will work (it can be difficult finding size 15 shoes in a red high heel!) we will have a limited number of heels for rent at the event.

Check back regularly for more information as the date gets closer!  We hope to see you on October 3rd in downtown Providence for our march!