2018 Recap
Happy February Allies! Thank you so much for following us and what we do - your continued support is invaluable to us. We want to share some things that may be interesting to you, including some new developments within our organization (some including YOU!).
The year 2018 was a pivotal year in each of our lives. Courtney Gaboriault's life was brutally taken in a final act of domestic violence that rocked our small community and sent reverberations through the state of Vermont. To lose such an impactful person who had so much to give did not seem possible. It was a sucker punch, a whirlwind, a media frenzy, and a deeply devastating time for each of us.
Through this profound tragedy and loss, friends of Courtney found that the only way to heal was to take action. We formed Courtney's Allies in the days following her death. Our first event was the candlelight vigil we held just seven days after we lost her in Barre City Park. Through Facebook, word of mouth and some media outlets, over 200 mourners joined us in the park that night to send our love and light to the soul of our friend (and to the souls of each other).
We wanted to keep Courtney's memory alive. We wanted to keep her name in people's minds. But we knew she was not the only one suffering from what killed her - domestic control and violence. She was the 4th Vermont woman killed by a current or former domestic partner in 2018. What better way to honor our friend by helping others in her name? What better way to stop these senseless acts than to become activists against them?
In August, we formed our Facebook page and began planning. Our second event was our 5k Walk to End Domestic Violence at Barre Town school in October 2018. We pulled this together over Facebook messenger, texting, troubleshooting Racewire and pooling our own funds. This time, over 100 participants attended and completed the 5k. We had a number of gracious sponsors who also helped us, and were able to donate $4000.00 to our local DV shelter, CIRCLE. We were so excited to have pulled off such a successful event! At that point, we knew this had become our calling. We knew Courtney was proud.
The Purple Stocking Initiative was our next charity event that we planned around Christmastime. The idea behind this event was for the public to get involved to help bring happiness to families staying in the ten domestic violence shelters in Vermont. We left empty stockings with purple ribbons (purple being the recognized awareness color for DV) tied to them at local businesses and implored the public to pick them up, fill them with donated items, and return them to us at a drop-off party we held at Mulligans Irish Pub. We received a lot of support and excitement around this event, and while our first year was a little disorganized, the Purple Stocking Initiative was another great success. We distributed the stockings to the shelters and were ecstatic to see the joy we could bring.
We are just getting started, and Courtney's Allies is growing! There are more events and fundraisers to come in 2019. Recently we have started the process of establishing Courtney's Allies, Inc. as a 501c3 non-profit. We want to ensure that all of our events and affairs in the future are as organized and clear-cut as possible. With the application comes the appointment of officers, election of a board, and tons of paperwork (and fees!). The following operating officers have been appointed:
Rebecca Duranleau, President
Kate R. Root, Vice President
Chelsea Spencer, Vice President
Alexandra Johns, Treasurer
Lindsey Johnson, Secretary
As for the board - we are unsure now of how many board members we will elect, but interested parties will be encouraged to reach out to us to complete an application. This invitation will be open to our followers and all members of the public! This way, those of you who want to help make a difference can become a part of our organization. We are so excited to be expanding!
And now for the nitty-gritty...our events and fundraisers thus far have mostly relied on using pooled funds from each other, and some donations. The Elks Club has also graciously awarded us a grant for our future endeavors. As part of this update, you should see an option to donate to Courtney's Allies in the lower right hand portion of our cover photo. Any monetary donation that we receive from you will go towards the future of our organization: supplies, fees associated with events and licensure, and other operating expenses.
We are so grateful for anything you can offer, and look forward to continuing our cause in 2019! Thank you for sharing our vision and helping us keep Courtney Gaboriault's memory alive and pulsing. It means more for the world than you know.
The year 2018 was a pivotal year in each of our lives. Courtney Gaboriault's life was brutally taken in a final act of domestic violence that rocked our small community and sent reverberations through the state of Vermont. To lose such an impactful person who had so much to give did not seem possible. It was a sucker punch, a whirlwind, a media frenzy, and a deeply devastating time for each of us.
Through this profound tragedy and loss, friends of Courtney found that the only way to heal was to take action. We formed Courtney's Allies in the days following her death. Our first event was the candlelight vigil we held just seven days after we lost her in Barre City Park. Through Facebook, word of mouth and some media outlets, over 200 mourners joined us in the park that night to send our love and light to the soul of our friend (and to the souls of each other).
We wanted to keep Courtney's memory alive. We wanted to keep her name in people's minds. But we knew she was not the only one suffering from what killed her - domestic control and violence. She was the 4th Vermont woman killed by a current or former domestic partner in 2018. What better way to honor our friend by helping others in her name? What better way to stop these senseless acts than to become activists against them?
In August, we formed our Facebook page and began planning. Our second event was our 5k Walk to End Domestic Violence at Barre Town school in October 2018. We pulled this together over Facebook messenger, texting, troubleshooting Racewire and pooling our own funds. This time, over 100 participants attended and completed the 5k. We had a number of gracious sponsors who also helped us, and were able to donate $4000.00 to our local DV shelter, CIRCLE. We were so excited to have pulled off such a successful event! At that point, we knew this had become our calling. We knew Courtney was proud.
The Purple Stocking Initiative was our next charity event that we planned around Christmastime. The idea behind this event was for the public to get involved to help bring happiness to families staying in the ten domestic violence shelters in Vermont. We left empty stockings with purple ribbons (purple being the recognized awareness color for DV) tied to them at local businesses and implored the public to pick them up, fill them with donated items, and return them to us at a drop-off party we held at Mulligans Irish Pub. We received a lot of support and excitement around this event, and while our first year was a little disorganized, the Purple Stocking Initiative was another great success. We distributed the stockings to the shelters and were ecstatic to see the joy we could bring.
We are just getting started, and Courtney's Allies is growing! There are more events and fundraisers to come in 2019. Recently we have started the process of establishing Courtney's Allies, Inc. as a 501c3 non-profit. We want to ensure that all of our events and affairs in the future are as organized and clear-cut as possible. With the application comes the appointment of officers, election of a board, and tons of paperwork (and fees!). The following operating officers have been appointed:
Rebecca Duranleau, President
Kate R. Root, Vice President
Chelsea Spencer, Vice President
Alexandra Johns, Treasurer
Lindsey Johnson, Secretary
As for the board - we are unsure now of how many board members we will elect, but interested parties will be encouraged to reach out to us to complete an application. This invitation will be open to our followers and all members of the public! This way, those of you who want to help make a difference can become a part of our organization. We are so excited to be expanding!
And now for the nitty-gritty...our events and fundraisers thus far have mostly relied on using pooled funds from each other, and some donations. The Elks Club has also graciously awarded us a grant for our future endeavors. As part of this update, you should see an option to donate to Courtney's Allies in the lower right hand portion of our cover photo. Any monetary donation that we receive from you will go towards the future of our organization: supplies, fees associated with events and licensure, and other operating expenses.
We are so grateful for anything you can offer, and look forward to continuing our cause in 2019! Thank you for sharing our vision and helping us keep Courtney Gaboriault's memory alive and pulsing. It means more for the world than you know.
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