Dear Friends, Coworkers, Classmates, Neighbors, and Strangers,

As many of you know, I have been using my past several birthdays to raise money for charity through FirstGiving. More info/rants on this topic can be found on any of my previous years' pages on the right! No presents necessary, donations to this page and hugs and moral support however are great! If a bunch of people donate a few bucks or just one buck, it really adds up, as I've seen over the years of doing this, so even though we're all feeling the effects of the economy, if a whole ton of us give a tiny bit, we can still make a difference!

If you would like to join me for my birthday physically, including for a city-wide volunteer day and a benefit for a domestic violence shelter that is also taking place at my school that day, please contact me privately at jakeandyears at gmail.com.

Why I chose V-Day for 2011:

This year, I am finally back in school after having to wait for 5 years due to extenuating circumstances, the saga of which some of you have also been following and whose support I appreciate. I am working on my dream of making a community service major, with the goal of eventually working with refugees of Female Genital Mutilation in Francophone African countries, which synthesizes my interest in African cultures and in combatting violence globally. It's a huge dream, an extensive undertaking. Whether I make it through undergrad, into grad, and into programs/opportunities to realize these dream projects or not, I still want to be involved in the causes in some capacity throughout my life.

V-Day has been part of my life for a long time, and has meant a lot to me as an aspiring  activist and as a survivor. They make a difference: endless campaigns and projects which are fighting rape and violence culture worldwide.

V-Day has Safe Houses! They work to preserve cultural practices while taking the violence out of them. For information on V-Day's safe houses which I one day want to get involved in, please visit the website: http://www.vday.org/our-work/safe-houses

I am also hoping to be part of my school's production of The Vagina Monologues this year as I was back in 2006, which of course raises money for domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.

Thank you all for your support through the years. Let me know if you have any questions.

Love,

Bean

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Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!