Hi Everyone! My name is Jennifer Ross, I am a sophomore at Rhodes College in Memphis, and I am the guest blogger for today! I am going into my second year of being a Coordinating Committee member of NNPCW. Kelsey asked me to write about an organization on my campus that I work with that works to end violence against women and children, V-Day and a sort of reflection on my experience working with this organization

A little bit of info about V-Day: V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

So, why did I initially get involved with V-Day on my campus? After my senior year in high school, as I was getting ready to go to college, I heard a statistic that shocked me: before graduating from college, 1 in 4 women will be raped. I was shocked, amazed and scared. This is definitely not something that is published in the fancy, shiny college brochures.

When I got to Rhodes, I was searching. Searching for something to help heal the pain that I felt about events in my own past, searching to connect my faith with social action and justice, searching for a way to make that 1 in 4 statistic a non-reality. I found what I was looking for it in V-Day and applied to be volunteer coordinator for the organization. This year, during the second week in February, V-Day hosted its annual V-Week, opening the week with a prayer and peace vigil and closing with 3 nights of performances of the V-Monologues. It was a poignant, difficult, joyous, and cathartic week as much of the campus rallied together to work on ending violence against women. It was amazing to see a group of students really fired up and working together on something that I cared so much about.

As a Christian, I feel called to minister to those who are oppressed, those who are hurting, and those who need help. This is my joy and my duty as a Christian and I feel so lucky to be able to work with V-Day. Christ is the perfect model for anyone seeking to do social justice ministries. Through Christ’s life and Christ’s example, I see what I want to do, who I want to be, who I am called to be. I am given the strength to continue on when the fight gets hard, the courage to stand up and speak when injustices abound and surrounded by the love of the Holy Spirit when I need it most. Standing up and working for social justice isn’t easy; in actuality, it’s incredibly hard, but because of the strength, courage and love I am given by Christ, I am able to do all things.

I encourage anyone who is reading this blog to stand up, get passionate about something, and make a change in the world.

If anyone has any questions or wants to talk to me for any reason, look me up on the coordinating committee page on NNPCW’s website.

Peace in Christ,

Jennifer

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” Matthew 5:6