If all goes as the SGA plans, 30 women facing domestic abuse soon will have cell phones to call for help when they need it – thanks to VCU students and other donors.
“I was very pleased with the turnout that we got,” said Mariam Hashim, SGA’s deputy assistant for development who was in charge of the “Where is the Love” event. “I was very pleased by the amount of students that donated and that were just generally interested in what was going on. I was very surprised and very happy that they were participating.”
The SGA, along with VCU’s Therapeutic Recreation Club, collected old cell phones from students to help benefit domestic-abuse and sexual-assault victims. The cell phones will be refurbished with tracking devices and given to women seeking help for potential abuse.
In addition, the SGA raised about $1,000 to benefit victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault by collecting money from donors at a table in the Commons. Century Florists, a wholesale supply company, also supplied student government members with 300 free flowers, which they sold for $1 on Valentine’s Day to add to the proceeds.
The event ended Wednesday with a special noon program in the Commons Plaza that featured Ty and Imago Dei, two singers who performed free for the cause.