Randolph helps prepare after-care kits for sexual assault victims

Volunteers assemble after-care kits in Smith Banquet Hall

On Thursday, Randolph College hosted an event to assemble 500 after-care kits for local adult and child victims of sexual and domestic violence that will be donated to Centra Lynchburg General Hospital.

For the project, Randolph worked with the local Sexual Assault Response Program, a partner of the national non-profit, Fear 2 Freedom, as well as other area colleges. Students, faculty, staff, as well as others from the community fitted each kit with toiletries, a teddy bear, and a hand-written note of support. A change of clothes was also included, since victims’ clothing is often confiscated as evidence after an incident.

Members of Randolph’s Campus Advocates group

Bethany Harrison, Lynchburg City prosecutor, described the prosecution process for sexual assault cases, and thanked the volunteers as well as local emergency responders for their assistance.

“It takes all of us to support those survivors and let them know that we care and that they are not alone,” Harrison said. “These notes mean the world to them, and you can see why this is so important.”

Rosemary Trible, founder and president of Fear 2 Freedom, also shared an inspiring message.

“It’s important that we all come together to make a difference,” she said. “Tonight, you’re going to be the change and you’re going to lead the way, and you are going to restore joy. You are the change, and you can begin to change hearts, to change your community, and to change the lives of those who have been so wounded by abuse.”

This is the first time Randolph has hosted a Fear 2 Freedom event, which is part of a series of Sexual Assault Awareness Month initiatives at the College. Randolph’s Campus Advocates group has also sponsored a performance of The Vagina Monologues, a Sex and Ice Cream event promoting communication in healthy relationships, and the Clothesline Project in which students designed their own T-shirts and displayed them in the trolleys. The group will also sponsor the upcoming Purple Thursday and Denim Day events.

See local media coverage of the Fear 2 Freedom project at http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/community-puts-together-after-care-kits-for-sex-abuse-victims/article_91db62ca-20b1-11e7-9fa5-7ffe42a0249e.html.