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The past two and a half months here at Becky’s Fund have been filled with many wonderful experiences. When I first arrived to DC, I was a little bit skeptical about working for an organization that deals with domestic violence because I did not feel I was prepared enough to handle the seriousness of the issue, emotionally and practically. The only other experience I had in relation to domestic violence is doing research and writing papers in college on Violence Against Women Act, which is a little bit different than dealing directly with clients and providing them with life-changing assistance. However, throughout my internship, I became more confident in my ability to serve the vulnerable and provide help to the survivors.
While at Becky’s Fund, I acquired and utilized a variety set of skills, from critical thinking to client-centered practice to research and event planning, which provided me with a foundation to do well on my assignments. Although doing research is not necessarily an exciting activity, it was helpful in assisting me to comprehend the different facets of domestic violence. Not in a million years would I have guessed that there is a correlation between domestic violence victims and cancer, yet the link is real and because I was asked to do research on this issue I have grown as a future professional. Not only did I expand on my knowledge, but I would not have been able to acquire this piece of information if it was not for Becky’s Fund, simply because I would never have researched this particular topic on my own. Also, I was able to attend a Congressional Briefing on the correlation between domestic violence and international abduction laws. This event was the highlight of my internship with Becky’s Fund because I learned so much in just two hours and I became motivated to continue to learn about the Hague Convention, especially since I am interested in international work.
Beyond the enhancement of my research skills, I was also exposed to variety of other opportunities that contributed to my development as a future social worker. Having the chance to work directly with the survivors made me realize the importance of organizations such as Becky’s Fund and gave me the experience of doing intake and direct intervention. Because domestic violence issue is so sensitive, it is vital to have a detailed intake, yet show sensitivity towards the survivors; therefore, knowing how to work with clients is an important skill that Becky’s Fund allowed me to develop further.
In addition to all the wonderful experiences that I received, I was able to participate in the Men of Code Program, which focused on the mentorship of a high school football team by teaching them about leadership, manhood, and habits of healthy relationships in order to prevent domestic violence in the future. One of the main reasons why I enjoyed being part of this program is because of its proactive approach to ending domestic violence. It was truly interesting to sit in on one of the lessons and hear the enthusiastic discussions that the students had regarding topics such as social media, HipHop, and masculinity in relation to domestic violence. Being able to witness their eager participation and learn from them was a growing experience.
Becky’s Fund allowed me to be part of a team that strives to prevent domestic violence as well as intervene in the moment of distress. Working side-by-side with a team filled with dedication to the cause and a desire to make a difference in their community made this summer that much more impactful. Becky Lee constantly challenged us as well as treated us as crucial members of the team, which made the time with the organization that much more productive and fulfilling. The lessons that I learned and the personal growth that I experienced will be a constant reminder of the wonderful people I had the pleasure of working with at Becky’s Fund!

Watch out it could be your best friend, your boss, your neighbor, even your brother. El Salvador has faced many hard decades in the last 50 years, ridden by civil war, foreign exploitation and racial genocide. Today one of the largest threats to its citizens is the major gang problem, and the countries in ability to put an end to this constant threat. Women as one can imagine do not fare so well in such an environment.

According to Non-governmental organization Salvadoran Women for Peace (Organizacion de Mujeres Salvadoreñas por la Paz – ORMUSA), which tracks violence against women, there were a record 628 such killings in 2011, higher than any year since the organization began to track the issue in 1999. In 2012 there were 320 homicides involving women, down from 2011 628. While the numbers may have dropped significantly when compared to previous years there is still an alarming about of “femicide” related crime for such a small country. “Femicide” being the coined term used by Human rights organizations in Latin America to refer to the murder of women who are killed because of their gender.

Many times the victims know the culprits and perhaps this is the saddest part, they are people they think they can trust, a friend, a neighbor, a boyfriend, even a relative. Perhaps even more shocking is the nature of the crimes, women are often raped and then brutally murdered. Some speculate that this is directly due to gang activity and El Salvador’s geographical location, which places it directly in the middle of most drug traffic going into the United States.

It comes to no surprise that a country with such a violent nature is among one of the countries with the highest murder rates in the world, El Salvador with nearly 70 per 100,000 people. While sexualized killings make up a small portion of the violent deaths, in 2010 for example 580 out of 4,000 involved some sort of “femicide”. Like in most countries this crime is in high occurrence during the holidays and among the largest concentration of population. San Salvador makes up for nearly 40% of all domestic crime, however one has to take into consideration that it solely has the highest reporting of such crimes. San Salvador being the capital of El Salvador has resources available to it that are not accessible in more rural areas of the country and as a result we see far fewer reports from such areas.

I remember the last time I visited El Salvador was nowhere near as dangerous as it is today, even though was pretty young and naïve I felt like I was in was at times that my safety was in some way threatened. I remember one occasion specifically when I was out with one of my older female cousins that she was very worried about our safety. It was broad daylight I thought to myself what could happen. We waited for a group of friends she had to walk us home, on our way home we witnessed a smaller group across the field being harassed. Had it just been the two of us it would have been a much different situation.  I haven’t been back since the age of 13, in part because of the danger of being an American and standing out among the locals.

While all people that commit domestic violence are not part of a gang and not all people in a gang commit domestic violence. The reality is that they may all be part of the same gang that is destroying countries all over the world. While Domestic Violence is by no means a new phenomena it is something that is impacting us on a much greater scale then ever before.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/02/domestic-violence_n_5428713.html

My summer in DC has been one that I will never forget, and working at Becky’s Fund has been a huge part of that experience. Before I came to D.C., I was extremely interested in women’s issues both nationally and globally. When I learned that I was going to be interning at a nonprofit that works to end domestic violence, I was very excited and knew that I was in for a very educational experience.

During my time at Becky’s Fund, I got to develop many skills that will help me in my future professional career. One thing that I particularly enjoyed working on was the Health and Human Services grant that we submitted at the beginning of the summer for our Men of Code program. It was extremely beneficial for me to get hands-on experience with writing and editing the grant, and I was very grateful to be able to be involved in the process. I also learned useful skills such as updating social media sites, working with platforms such as Constant Contact and WordPress, and researching in-depth the different aspects and components of domestic violence.

One of the biggest things that I learned this summer was how large of an issue domestic and sexual violence really is. One of my biggest tasks this summer was to research domestic violence statistics as well as sexual assault policies on college campuses. It shocked me to learn that one in four women in the U.S. are survivors of some kind of abuse and that most college campuses do not have an enforced sexual assault policy. I also learned about how big of an issue that violence against women is in the NFL. Domestic and sexual violence are still huge issues in the United States, and I was honored to be able to work with Becky’s Fund in order to join the movement to end it.

My favorite part about the summer was meeting my fellow interns. I was extremely blessed to have been able to meet three extremely incredible and hard-working women. Each of them had a unique story behind why they wanted to work in a domestic violence nonprofit, and they all inspired me to keep working in the movement to end domestic violence. I feel lucky to have worked along side of my peers as well as Becky, who is a great asset to this city and inspires me to work hard at making a difference. The things I have done, places I’ve been, and most notably, the the people I have met this summer, are all things that will not only help me in my future career, but will be memories that I will admire and appreciate the rest of my life.

I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to intern for Becky’s Fund this summer, it has been an amazing and educational experience that I will always carry with me. I never thought coming in that I would have the opportunity to gain as much experience and knowledge as I did. I learned so much about not only dating and domestic violence, but also about the inner workings of running a successful nonprofit organization. Being a nonprofit major, I had studied program implementation, fundraising, and grant writing, but to be able to actually put all that knowledge into practice was very humbling and educational. I was able to gain professional experience and better understand my strengths and weaknesses in a professional work environment. My time at Becky’s Fund helped me to develop not only my personal skills but also my future plans.

Because my work at Becky’s Fund was so multifaceted, I was able to get practice and professional experience in almost every area of nonprofit work. I experienced all of the hard work that goes into planning and organizing events, implementing programs, and the tireless work of grant writing. Having never had formal experience working for a nonprofit like Becky’s Fund, coming in I thought that I would be doing simple tasks to help around the office. That was not the case and I was able to gain more professional experience than I ever thought.

Becky’s Fund also opened my eyes to the world of dating and domestic violence. I have studied many women’s issues and I knew the basics of dating and domestic abuse, but after working at Becky’s Fund I see that this is an issue that needs a lot of attention. Seeing the different issues behind domestic violence and speaking with survivors gave me motivation to work hard to stop all violence against women, in the United States and around the world.

Although my time at Becky’s Fund is coming to an end, the one thing I will never forget is the amazing and inspiring women I was able to meet and work with this summer. In our culture, you don’t always see smart, successful women who are also beautiful and kind, this summer I was able to work with four women with all of those characteristics. All of my coworkers and my boss Becky Lee are amazing leaders who defy the typical stereotypes placed on women. I am so grateful for my time this summer as a Becky’s Fund intern and I will take everything I have learned and use it in all my future ventures.

It is no shock that America has a gun violence problem that is growing more prevalent as each day passes. The Brady Campaign is taking initiative to take a stand against gun violence and is pressing to create stricter policies on gun laws. The campaign has reported that most women murdered with a gun is from an intimate partner or family member. This has to change! How can we let our loved ones be murdered day after day because of a lack in something as simple as background checks? Those states that do require a background check show lower rates of women being murdered by intimate partners. This is why the Brady Campaign is pushing for change, to better protect our neighbors, sisters, children, wives and loved ones. Gun violence is also harming more and more youth. More than one in five U.S. teenagers (ages 14 to 17) report having witnessed a shooting and an average of eight children and teens under the age of 20 are killed by guns every day On

average, 32 Americans are murdered with guns every day and 140 are treated for a gun assault in an emergency room. Every day on average, 51 people kill themselves with a firearm, and 45 people are shot or killed in an accident with a gun. In comparison to other countries, the United States firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population. Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to discuss strengthening laws to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. The Brady Campaign will be there, urging the Senate to close existing loopholes, like the lack of background checks, that allow domestic abusers to easily get guns. The Brady Campaign does not suggest to take away the right to bear arms, but is pushing for stricter regulations to better protect the American people. Owning a gun is a constitutional right of every American but before purchasing a firearm a background check is necessary and will lower the rates of domestic violence leading to death. States with stricter gun policies show a lower rate of gun violence than those with lenient gun laws that don’t require gun permits and background checks.

My name is Najaah Daniels and I am a survivor of domestic violence. Before

my adoption in 2006, I grew up in the South Bronx with my biological parents. My mother, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, had two addictions: heroine and my father. My father manipulated his use of power by physically and verbally abusing my mother and me. I can recall many instances of abuse and neglect yet closeness and sacrifice that have shaped the woman I am today.

I am a first-generation college student and senior at St. John’s University majoring in Rhetoric and Public Address with a double minor in Sociology and Philosophy. I have served in the public sector for the past seven years with the NAACP, Latino Justice PRLDEF, Manhattan County District Attorney’s Office, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and U.S. Congress. This past spring I had the great privilege of being an intern in the Office of the Vice President. Under Lynn Rosenthal, the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, I had the unique opportunity to work alongside the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault created by President Obama on January 22, 2014. The Task Force is an interagency effort dedicated to address and combat campus rape and sexual assault across the nation.

My empowering experience at the White House led me to Becky’s Fund. I never imagined something so meaningful emerging from being a domestic violence survivor. This year is my first time publicly vocalizing my story and utilizing it as a vehicle of motivation. I look forward to working closely with the Men of Code program, which enlists men and boys as allies and proactive participants in the movement to end violence against women, as well as, obtaining skills in grant writing, budgeting, and increasing revenue through fundraising. I am humbled by the opportunity to work beside the Executive Director of Becky’s Fund, Becky Lee. As the Fundraising Organizer and Programming Assistant I will assist with the organization’s vision of combating domestic violence through: awareness, advocacy, activism, and support.

My experiences and travels have taken me many places in my life and has helped me form who I am. My name is Caroline Davis, I am a rising Junior at High Point University in North Carolina. I am currently a double major in Nonprofit Management and Political Science,   I hope to study Public Policy in my future education. I have had some different experiences working with different nonprofits, I am a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters as well as Habitat for Humanity, but I have also worked with nonprofits on SWOT and program analysis and implementation.

In my future I hope to work with international women’s rights and empowerment, currently I am very interested in the culture in India and fixing the different mentalities of women in that country. This was cultivated when I went to Morocco last summer to volunteer at the Rabat Children’s Hospital, and learned about new cultures and the needs in different parts of the world. I believe that empowerment and education are two big factors in women’s empowerment and I especially think that education of men on women’s rights is important in changing attitudes.

On the political side I am interested in policy changes and working with the government in setting up laws or changing policies in place. I am also interested in looking at statistics of domestic violence and the accuracy of those statistics. I am very excited to be working with Becky’s Fund and learning the different aspects of a nonprofit as well as the different pathways to promote advocacy and awareness of important issues.

Being the programs and outreach intern at Becky’s Fund this semester has been an amazing and transformative experience. I never imagined coming into my internship the multitude of experience I would gain or the amount of personal growth I would see in myself, but I am ecstatic that these are the realities of my time at Becky’s Fund. I learned so much during my time at Becky’s Fund, not only about the issues of dating and domestic violence, but also about some of the more logistical, behind-the-scenes aspects of working at a non-profit organization. I also learned more about my own leadership abilities, as well as how I can improve upon them. I was able to learn so much about so many different things due largely to the fact that my work at Becky’s Fund was incredibly multi-faceted. I was charged with working on Becky’s Fund’s social media accounts, helping with volunteer outreach, helping to plan a Becoming Your Own Heroine workshop, planning and executing our large fundraising event at Gold Cup, composing educational articles and pamphlets, and other smaller-scale tasks.

I have been interested in the issues of dating and domestic violence, as well as women as victims of crime on a more general scale, since I took a class entitled, “Women, Crime, and Justice,” during my sophomore year at The University of Iowa. The issue stood out to me during this class as one that deserves more attention than it gets. It’s an issue that’s more pervasive in our society than many people realize, and in order to counter it we must make it more of public discussion than it currently is.

Although I do not know if working directly on the issue of domestic violence is in my future, I do know that this semester taught me that I have a crucial desire to better the world around me, whether via working on this issue, or any of the others that currently plague our society. I know that my newly improved sensitivity to victims, along with some of the knowledge I have gained this semester, will help me in achieving this goal. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Becky’s Fund this semester, and I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to spend a few months working on such an important issue.