There won’t be a crowd of guys walking around in red high heels on the Litchfield Green this year — again — but the Walk a Mile In Her Shoes fundraiser will go on.
The walk is a virtual one this year, running from May 17-28, for safety concerns, held to benefit the Susan B. Anthony Project, a provider of services for victims of domestic violence. A virtual opening ceremony May 17, and a closing May 28, will be shown on Facebook Live and Twitter.
Last year, the virtual walk raised about $34,000, according to SBAP’s Business Development Associate Ashley Cerruto.
“We are starting to get registrations, people signing up to participate on their own, but we really need more people to do that now,” she said. “I’m sure that will happen this coming week. We’re getting the word out to people.”
Sponsorships and donations are also coming in for this year’s fundraiser. To date, they include Agency Sponsors Dymax Corporation and Webster Bank and Event Sponsors A Healing Trail Wellness Center; Karpas Strategies; King, King, and Associates CPAs; O&G Industries; Putnam Tennis Courts; RAR Excavating and Building; St. Paul’s Lodge No. 11; Thomaston Savings Bank Foundation; Torrington Savings Bank; and Twenty2 Wallpaper. Sponsorship opportunities are still available to interested businesses and individuals, Cerruto said.
“We’ve had a really wonderful response from the business community,” Cerruto said. “They’ve really come out to help us this year.”
Participants can choose from two registration levels, both of which include use of the iconic red high heels, which they can wear to walk a literal mile, or simply for fun photo opportunities to raise awareness, Cerruto said. Registration can be done at www.sbaproject.org/walkamile.
In addition to walking and fundraising as an individual or as part of a team, those interested in supporting the event and Susan B. Anthony Project’s services are invited to sponsor the walk, place an ad in the event program, purchase merchandise, pledge a walker, make a general donation, or simply spread the word about the event and raise awareness about the issues of domestic and sexual violence in our community.
With all this planning coming to an end for this year’s event, Cerruto and others at SBAP are hoping this is the last virtual one.
“This has gone very well, and people are supportive to us, but we’re really hoping to be in person next year,” she said. “The energy we create at a live walk, with everyone together, is something so special. It’s just a lot more fun for everyone.”
At the last in-person walk in 2019, more than 300 men and women participated in red footwear. All walkers were challenged to wear red high heels and walk a mile around the block from the Green.
For men, it’s a symbolic gesture, Cerruto said. “Guys are trying to put themselves in another person’s shoes, and have fun with it, too,” she said. “They do it to raise awareness, but it’s meaningful in a lot of different ways.”
All details for Susan B. Anthony Project’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes: The Virtual Experience are available at www.sbaproject.org/walkamile. For more information or questions about the Walk, please contact Gina Devaux at gdevaux@sbaproject.org or Ashley Cerruto at acerruto@sbaproject.org, or call 860-489-3798.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, created by Frank Baird in 2001, is an international men’s march where men and boys lead the way on the road to end sexual and domestic violence by literally walking a mile in women’s high heeled shoes, according to SBAP. Learn more at www.walkamileinhershoes.org.
Founded in 1983, SBAP promotes safety, healing, and growth for all survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, and advocates for the autonomy of women and the end of interpersonal violence. SBAP provides crisis and support services, including a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, transitional living services, court and medical advocacy, individual counseling, and support groups, as well as education and prevention programs, free of charge, to two cities and 18 towns in Northwest Connecticut. For more information about the services and programs offered by SBAP, visit www.sbaproject.org, or call 860-489-3798. The 24-hour crisis line is 860-482-7133.
Original Story: Register-Citizen (https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Torrington-Walk-a-Mile-In-Her-Shoes-16161193.php)
