Thank you all so much for coming here tonight and for your incredible support and hard work in this journey. Most of you know that this cause has been very near to my heart, in fact over the past several months it turned into a mission to help others who find themselves in a difficult situation. I’ve learned so much along this journey which in stemmed from a very traumatic incident that happened to me in 2005 when I was drugged and raped. For years I tried to bury that incident and often avoided mentioning it, as if that way I could erase what happened… but what is that saying? “that which you resist persists” turned out to be all too true. After what happened I wanted to hide from the world, yet ironically it was by opening up to the world, even to complete strangers about what happened to me that I found the greatest healing.

I’d like to read you a brief passage from a book I love by Gordon Livingston, called “Too soon old, too late smart”.  It is easy to get caught up in past traumas as explanations for why our lives are not what we wish. The problem with living in the past is that it inhibits change and  is therefore inherently pessimistic. Certainly it is true that understanding who we are depends on paying attention to the history of our lives. Somewhere between ignoring the past and wallowing in it there is a place where we can learn from what has happened to us including the inevitable mistakes we have made and integrate this knowledge into our plans for the future. Inevitably this process requires some exercises in forgiveness. It is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves. It is simultaneously an act of will and of surrender and it often seems impossible until the moment you do it.  To acknowledge that we have been harmed by another but choose to let go of our resentment is a way of liberating ourselves from a sense of oppression and a hopeful statement of our capacity for change. It leaves us free to choose the attitudes with which we confront the present and the future.

This has been such an incredible rollercoaster of a journey which happened in the blink of an eye..well a bleary sleepless eye at times. In two months we were able to create a brand new fundraiser, launch it, create a fabulous website and incredible awareness campaign including numerous print and radio spot lights. We then signed up 9 salons who donated 20% of their profits from August 22nd and finally created this closing evening with 20+ exciting silent auction items….hint hint..there is still time to bid.  When people ask me how I did it, I tell them honestly that I didn’t do it. I’ll take credit for being the persistent voice of “ but I really really want this to work” however most of the actual work credit belongs to my wonderful board members (Allison Grisham (who doubled as my personal photographer),  Ann Horowich,  Stephanie Itule, Marilyn Reitman, Calvin Marshall, Allie Bell and Katriona McIver), these folks joined me every week at Le Cafe where we strategized over delicious food, wine and cupcakes. My wonderful web designer guru Pablo Calderon Rodgriguez who could not be here tonight, my incredible PR Guru Jennifer Becker from BKR Media who believed that this would work before it even had a name, Serge Castagna from DogTrackRabbit who came up with our logo and cool design ideas, Kari who supported me with many fliers at lightning speed, Elyssa who designed our business cards, Alessandra who made my letters compelling, Melanie from the Conrad who kindly hosted our launch party as well as tonight’s event, Fred from Miami.com who helped promote this, Natalia from 93.9 who got us on the air and was our gracious MC for tonight as well as the many volunteers that are helping us tonight and of course the many wonderfully generous salons that contributed and WomenInDistress for their support. Now I really feel like I’m giving an Oscar speech! I’m sure that there are people that I am forgetting. Please forgive me, I am truly grateful to you in my heart.

Before I turn it over to Mary Reidel from WomenInDistress who will tell you more about the very important work that they do, I’d like to leave you with one more passage about friendship from the book 50 things that really matter.

“Once in a while you make friends who have the power to restore your faith in humanity.  Once in the greatest of whiles, you make friends who can restore your faith in yourself”  That’s what you did for me, thank you so very much and happy bidding!

As you can see it is a tremendous amount of advertising that we have secured and we are continuing to be in talks with TV stations about doing a story.

The most effective PR is a friend asking a friend to visit a spa together! It’s not too late, call your friends and make an appt. It really is that easy to make a difference.

Hugs,

Kasia

Help us out, tell your friends, co-workers, and fellow twitterers about  kasiascause.org.

The most beautiful part of this experience has been all the wonderful people that I have had the privilege to work with to make this happen. I am so touched by your kindness and generosity. Thank you and here is to a great final salon sign-up week!

August 22nd is just over 2 weeks away and we are very much in the home stretch. It is really time to get all hands on deck for the additional salon outreach to get them on board. There are so many great reasons for salons to participate from the great PR buzz, new clients, tax deduction but the best reason is to show that you care. Please join us in letting South Florida know that domestic violence is not acceptable and showing victims that they are not alone. Let’s not wait for the next headline story of a family that was killed by the spouse, an ounce of prevention really is worth more than a pound of cure.

1. Make the world a better place because there really is no excuse for abuse
2. Stand up & show victims that they are not alone
3. Feel good- doing something good for yourself while helping others is great
4. Great excuse to get together with friends for a spa day out
5. Help your local economy by supporting local businesses that care

Top 5 Reasons for Salons to Participate:

1. Incredible advertising bargain! Radio, newspaper, on-line (15 community calendars, email blasts, KasiasCause.org and miami.com), social networking, fliers & possibly TV exposure.
2. Great reason to reach out to their database of clients- customers love to support businesses that give back.
3. Increase business during Miami’s slow season
4. Tax deduction
5. Because it feels good to do the right thing

This week was especially exciting since we kicked off the salon blitz campaign which reaches out to salons and asks them to participate. We are getting good responses from salons and need even more volunteers to help us get the word out. Please consider being one of our ambassadors and asking your salon to participate. It’s also a great idea to ask your friends for salon recommendations.

In the links section we have created material both to help you approach a salon and what you can give them.

Thank you again for all your support! You are making a difference and bringing kindness to abuse survivors who really need it.

This was truly a team effort.

• Pablo Calderon Rodriguez worked tirelessly with me on this and double/triple checked that everything worked. He really does amazing work.
• The FIU Team of Frank Castro, David Roberts and Rick Martinez who so graciously put up with my badgering and turned around a miracle in record time.
• Marilyn Reitman for connecting me with Frank and her on-going support & encouragement.
• Serge Castagna of dogtrackrabbit.com for your great concept.
• Allison, Katriona, Allie, Ann, Jennifer for your support & in finding help.

Before this turns into an Oscar speech I’m going to stop and just say how very, very grateful I am for all your hard work. Needless to say, this would not be happening without you and I just can’t say thank you enough!

On October 8th 2005, about 6 months after I moved to Miami, I was invited to spend the day on a friend’s boat. What I thought would be a day of fun, turned out to be the realization of my worst fear. That day I was drugged and raped. It would end up being a day that forever changed me, and my perception of the world.

At first I was in denial. I knew that something awful had happened but I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I had been raped. How could someone that I trusted do that to me? While my body was battered and bruised, on an emotional level, I was falling apart. I learned the hard way that the visible proof of physical violence does not begin to tell the story of the emotional terror that haunts victims.

As I reached out for help and justice, I found that the resources that I desperately needed were simply too over burdened with cases and a lack of funding. However, even in the most unbearable moments of my ordeal, I remember being grateful that I had a safe place to live where my attacker was unlikely to hurt me again.

Years later, I learned that for victims of domestic violence the resources were equally scarce. It was heartbreaking to think that for every 1 person that was taken in at the shelter, 2 had to be turned away. I knew I had to take action. As a human being, everybody deserves a safe place to live.

While the road to recovery for victims is not an easy one, the step we can take to help is a simple one. I now know that it is possible to live through unimaginable trauma and go on to have a happy life, but to get there, victims MUST have support. Please partner with me in the fundraiser Kasia’s Cause, together we can make a difference.

To learn more, please contact me at KasiasCause@gmail.com.