There’s something you can easily do to support the prevention of dating abuse – vote for Paul Lavallee’s project at Pepsi Refresh all this month. Paul is a long time high school educator that became involved in the movement against dating abuse/domestic violence after a student of his was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. Funding for his project would allow for, among other things, the production and distribution of a dating abuse DVD and curriculum to high schools across the country. Hundreds of thousands of students could be educated to look for the warning signs of an abusive relationship.
You can find out more about Paul’s project, watch a piece of the video, and vote by visiting http://www.refresheverything.com/forjustin. Just click on the “Vote for this Idea” button and follow the instructions on the screen. You can also vote each day by texting 101930 to Pepsi (73774).
Please repost this message or pass it on to your  friends and family. We’d really appreciate your support of this project.
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The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently made their training In Their Shoes: Teens and Dating Violence available for groups of adults that work with teenagers. The training is designed to allow adults to walk in the shoes of teens, facing obstacles and making decisions as a teenager would – especially where dating violence is concerned. Sexting, pregnancy, homophobia, and stalking are among the special circumstances encountered in the training.
The development of this training was funded by the parents of Dayna Fure, a Washington teen that was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2004. Hopefully, allowing adults a glimpse of the teen perspective will allow them to better assist teens attempting to end dangerous relationships in the future. For more information, visit www.wscadv.org.
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Student members of the Center for Youth Leadership at Brien McMahon High School wrote this editorial about dating abuse which appeared in the Hartford Courant today. The Courant has made a pledge to continue to cover domestic violence in their community; Nina Raffio and Roberto Ceja remind us that dating abuse, much of the time effecting those under 18, is also important to keep in mind. Focus on this issue now may help prevent adult domestic violence in the future. We’d like to thank Nina, Roberto, and the Hartford Courant for giving dating abuse attention.
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The Seattle Mariners have teamed up with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence to compete for a Pepsi Refresh grant. Until August 17th, you can support their project, which focuses on the important job of teaching non-violence to young male athletes, by voting up to ten times per day. Please take the time to visit the site, learn more about the project and vote – we’d really appreciate it!
Also, keep an eye out for loveisrespect’s Pepsi Refresh project - coming in October. We’ll need your help too.
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