Jeanne Geiger Center fundraiser set for Tuesday – The Daily News of Newburyport

NEWBURYPORT The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center will hold the fifth annual White Ribbon Breakfast on Tuesday at Ipswich Country Club to raise money for its Youth Empowerment Services at local schools.

This year commemorates the 27th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre in which a man separated men from women in an engineering class atLcole Polytechnique at the University of Montreal, then shot or stabbed and killed 14 women as he declared his hatred of feminists.

Theevent led to the formation of the international White Ribbon Campaign, and the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center sees the breakfast as a way of engaging men and boys in this international campaign to end violence against women and girls.

The funds that we receive from this breakfast have helped us to form a collaborative partnership between area school districts and the center and provide young people in our community with the comprehensive program interventions necessary to empower them to make healthy decisions that will positively impact their lives, said Suzanne Dubus, CEO of the center.

The program will feature presentations from Attorney General Maura Healey, who will discuss Game Change: the New England Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership, an innovative approach to violence prevention education; Jonathan Kalin, founder of Party with Consent; and two Amesbury High School students who will share their personal experiences on what they have learned and how this program has affected their school community, personal relationships and the community.

To break the cycle of violence before it affects the next generation, the crisis center offers an innovative Youth Empowerment Services program that uses evidence-based and nationally recognized approaches to educate and engage girls and boys in breaking the cycle of domestic violence, according to a press release.

Through three linked initiatives, the center empower girls, fosters healthy dating relationships, and engages boys and girls in violence prevention, with an emphasis on reaching students in upper elementary school through high school.

Last year, YES programming was provided to 2,906 students and faculty at eight schools across Essex County. The White Ribbon Breakfast gives the crisis center the opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention and the role that boys and men play, and also raises the money necessary to continue this work.

It is important for everyone of all ages to understand the proper response to a violent or potentially violent situation,said Dick Bazirgan, who chairs White Ribbon.The key is to understand that doing nothing is not an option, it just makes you part of the problem. This problem is not going away and looking away is not the answer.

Anyone who wants to support the program canattend or help sponsor the breakfast. A framed, autographed Tom Brady jersey will be auctioned at the breakfast. In addition, anyone who makes a donation at the breakfast will be entered into a drawing to win a set of four New England Patriots tickets that include a sideline pass.

Registration will begin Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. and the program will be from 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Ipswich Country Club is located at148 Country Club Way, Ipswich.

Tickets are $35 per person or $350 for a table.Reservations and sponsorship information are available online at http://www.jeannegeigercrisiscenter.org or you can contact Kelly Majewski 978-465-0999, ext. 14.

More here:

Jeanne Geiger Center fundraiser set for Tuesday - The Daily News of Newburyport