Happy Women’s History Month – March!

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/ is a website hosted by the Library of Congress

Happy International Women’s Day – March 8, 2014!

Click on names of organizations that empower women, girls, boys, men – I’ve hyperlinked so that one click sends you to that website while this blog post remains open.

Bay Area Impact making the world safer – one woman at a time

Women Rising (San Jose area) and their page “Global Movement”

Girl Rising  “One Girl with Courage is a Revolution”

Community Violence Solutions provides support services to child and adult victims of sexual assault and their families through seven main programs.

One Billion Rising (one billion women)

Afghan Women’s Writing Project – To Tell One’s Story Is a Human Right

Women’s National Book Association was established in 1917, before women in America even had the right to vote.

Stamp Out Stigma, a community advocacy and educational outreach program dedicated to eradicating the stigma associated with mental illness

Bring Change 2 Mind is a national anti-stigma campaign founded by Glenn Close, The Balanced Mind Foundation, Fountain House, and Garen & Shari Staglin of the International Mental Health Research Organization (IMHRO), aimed at removing misconceptions about mental illness.

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Program (ATIP) identifies and serves victims of human trafficking, assisting foreign trafficking victims in the United States to become eligible for public benefits and services to the same extent as refugees.  The program also raises awareness of human trafficking through the HHS Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking campaign.

The Mission of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is to organize for collective power by advancing transformative work, thinking and leadership of communities and individuals working to end the violence in our lives. NCADV strives to make issues relating to battered women and children one of the top ten political and legislative issues in the U.S.

The documentary FEMME: Women Healing the World – a celebration of women around the world actively transforming and healing our global society. Sharon Stone and leading experts in religion, science, history, politics and entertainment, discuss solutions to the multiple crises we are faced with. FEMME focuses on utilizing a feminine approach with nurturing energy to inspire a new hope for the future.

My dear colleague Margie Yee Webb is one of the producers of this extraordinary project.

There are thousands of organizations celebrating women and girls – may they all grow and grow and grow!

Wednesday April 7, 2010 Richmond, CA

I went to my second rehearsal tonight of The Vagina Monologues.

I have lines in these 2 sections of the play:

“I Was There In the Room” The  lines are beautifully poetic.
Vanessa, Vicki, Natalie, Michelle, Martha and I had a good time saying our lines.

“A teenage Girl’s Guide to Surviving Sex Slavery” I can’t describe to you what this passage is; you have to see the show–Monday April 12, 2010, 7:30pm

Teresa LeYung Ryan rehearsing with fellow actresses "I Was There In The Room" in The Vagina Monologues

Director Kathryn G. McCarty said:  “A cast member asked me to include a few words on why I am doing this show.  Back in November, I stood with fellow teachers and friends at the Candlelight Vigil for the victim of the Gang Rape in Richmond (a student of mine).    A few weeks later, a fellow teacher told me he heard another young woman at our school say ‘I don’t know what the big deal is about rape.  It happens to everyone.’

“Everyone?  Did I hear this clearly?   I wondered what I could do.  After some thought, I spoke with several friends & decided  The Vagina Monologues was a show that needed to be done.

“We really need help getting the word out about the show, which is a benefit for Community Violence Solutions, a rape crisis center.  We would really like to reach young people who might not go to such events – but who will learn from this show.  Thanks for your help!”

Director Kathy McCarty is so good with us newbies. We’re all working hard rehearsing, spreading the word about April 12th, and making new friends.

See you at the Craneway Pavillion, 1414 Harbour Way South, in the Marina district of Richmond, CA, convenient to the 580 freeway.   www.craneway.com

Tickets at:  http://galateanplayers.com “Family Vagina Warrior Discount”  The $30.00  online discounted ticket is available April 7 – April 10.  If you can’t make it to the show, there is also the “Each One, Reach One” ticket, where you can donate $20 to help sponsor someone else’s coming to the show.  $25 for students & seniors. Or https://www.goldstar.com/ for $20 tickets & $5 fee.

Thanks, Elisa Southard, for cheering me on; this newbie likes being an actress.

authors Teresa LeYung Ryan & Elisa Southard in Pittsburg, CA commemorating Denim Day 2005

Thursday, April 8, 2010 third rehearsal. Tonight I remembered 90% of my lines.  I had fun. I was deeply moved by the other gals’ deliveries of their lines.

http://www.goldstar.com/events/richmond-ca/the-vagina-monologues.html

“On April 12, 2010, 7:30pm Women from throughout the East Bay unite to perform Eve Ensler’s award-winning play The Vagina Monologues as a benefit for Community Violence Solutions. V-Day is a global movement and series of consciousness-raising events geared toward ending violence against girls and women worldwide. The Vagina Monologues is based on more than 200 interviews with women. The monologues help give voice to experiences and feelings not traditionally exposed in public.”

Directed by   Kathryn G. McCarty   a benefit for Community Violence Solutions

In an interview:  “Somehow the Craneway Pavillion seems an appropriate venue,” said Clay David, who is helping to produce The Vagina Monologues. The venue is in the Rosie the Riveter National Park, he explained. “The V-Day Movement possesses a very ‘We Can Do It’ grassroots effort. It’s a movement that started small, in colleges throughout the country, and it’s done magnificent work.”

http://galateanplayers.com/THEVAGINAMONOLOGUES.html
Further information about V-Day:   http://www.vday.org

Teresa LeYung Ryan rehearsing lines in "A Teenage Girl's Guide to Surviving Sex Slavery" in The Vagina Monologues

Sincerely,

Teresa

I, Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart, help survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.

www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com