BACKGROUND
Rachel Coalition's education and outreach program provides continuous resources about domestic violence as well as actively raising public awareness about the complex effects of domestic violence on individuals, children and our communities. Our outreach professionals and volunteers speak at schools, community groups and synagogues on a wide variety of domestic violence related topics. All of our outreach and community programs are free to the community.
Through community events and programs as well distribution of materials, Rachel Coalition is active in efforts to encourage the community to take action to prevent domestic violence.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Florin Education Series:
The Florin Education Series Endowment Fund allows the Coalition to sponsor a community education program which gives the community different perspectives of domestic violence. Past community forums of this nature have drawn as many as 1300 attendees. The 2010 Women to Women Luncheon will take place on Tuesday, October 12 at the Park Avenue Club in Florham Park and will feature author Thrity Umrigar whose best-selling novel, The Space Between Us, explores the shame and disappointment of an abusive marriage and the bonds of womanhood in modern-day Mumbai.
Click here to register for the 2010 Women to Women Luncheon sponsored by the Florin Education Series.
Rachel Shabbat
A designated Sabbath at MetroWest synagogues whereby rabbis or Rachel Coalition Speakers Bureau volunteers address the issue of domestic violence from the pulpit.
Run for Rachel
The Run for Rachel is a successful fundraiser for the organization and helps raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence amongst a large, general population. Run for Rachel is USATF certified and has been a 5K Women's Championship race for the past seven years.
On May 23, 2010, more than 500 runners participated in the Run for Rachel and together they raised more than $60,000 to benefit victims of domestic violence. To see pictures from the event, click here.
The 11th Annual Run for Rachel takes place on Sunday, May 15, 2011. Those interested in sponsoring or volunteering for the event should contact Sylvia Heller at 973-765-9050 or sheller@jfsmetrowest.org.
Court Advocate Volunteer Training Program
The Fall 2010 Court Advocate Volunteer Training Program will begin on October 19 and will meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for 13 sessions (no trainings will be held on Veteran's Day and the week of Thanksgiving). This 40-hour program trains volunteers to assist domestic violence victims as they await their restraining order hearings in Essex County Family Court. If you would like to be trained as a volunteer in future sessions, please contact Suzanne Groisser, Esq., Rachel Coalition Coordinator of Legal Services at 201-407-3243 or sgroisser@jfsmetrowest.org.
For more information on all programs and outreach efforts email: programs@rachelcoalition.org
