Hi all! It’s almost time for an annual event I’m proud to have participated in for the last 10 years – the Walk for Vancouver Rape Relief! This Walkathon-style fundraiser is a truly fun experience – a stroll (or bike or rollerblade) around the Stanley Park seawall is followed by a tasty picnic lunch of gourmet delights, with great live music too! And best of all, the event raises funds to support a community organization that has been supporting women and their children escaping male violence, for over 35 years. Vancouver Rape Relief operates a 24-hour crisis line and a shelter/transition house for battered women. They also help women navigate the daunting bureaucracy involved in escaping a violent man. They do some vital work and I’m very proud to support them as a member of “Friends of Rape Relief” – a group of (mostly) men who fundraise for VRRWS. So, please consider walking and raising pledges for this great organization – or making a pledge toward my own walk. The walk is on Sunday, May 29, starting and ending at the Ceperley Picnic Grounds in Stanley Park. For full details you can check the Walk page on the VRR site. Remember, as the poster says, “ending violence against women could be a walk in the park!”