giving tuesday; facebook; fundraiser

Support Survivors this #GivingTuesday

Sanctuary clients face more challenges than ever before — we hope you’ll think of them on this special day.

Celebrate #GivingTuesday with a tax-deductible gift to Sanctuary — all gifts will be matched up to $50,000!

DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT


Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! 

What started as a simple idea and turned into a global movement, Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to come together with people around the world in the spirit of generosity.

This year has been particularly difficult for survivors of domestic violence. With two recent Supreme Court decisions that will grant more power to abusers — the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the striking down of a century-old New York law that limited the carrying of concealed firearms outside the home — victims of gender violence face more challenges than ever before.

We know that many other causes are vying for your attention at this time of year. Still, we hope you’ll think of Sanctuary’s clients on November 29th — the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Thanks to a generous group of anonymous Sanctuary Board members, all gifts made to our #GivingTuesday campaign will be matched up to $50,000! You can get a head start on Giving Tuesday by donating today, knowing that your gift will have double the impact for survivors

  MAKE A GIFT  


Take Action on Social Media

If you’d like to increase your impact, you can create a Facebook fundraiser to get your friends and family involved in our mission to end gender-based violence. It’s an easy and effective way to get the word out about our work.

Create my facebook fundraiser

You can make an incredible difference with just a few minutes’ work. 

  1. Click here to create your own Facebook fundraiser.
  2. Click ‘Select Nonprofit’ and search for Sanctuary for Families. You’ll know it’s us by our logo!
  3. Set your goal and tell your friends why you’re supporting Sanctuary or why supporting survivors is important to you.
  4. Start sharing your fundraiser Monday evening and all through the end of the day on Tuesday!

100% of donations made through Facebook go to the nonprofit organization; which means every dollar goes to our cause.

Create an Instagram Nonprofit Fundraiser:

Instagram fundraisers can be attached to video, carousel, and image posts in the feed. The fundraiser will be visible in the post and will be active for 30 days, which can be extended at any time. A link to an active fundraiser will also be added to your profile bio. ACCESS OUR GRAPHICS.

  1. On your profile, tap the Create icon (“+”) in the top right.
  2. Select Fundraiser.
  3. Enter Sanctuary for Families (@sffny) and select it from the menu. 
  4. Add details in the Fundraiser Details page, tap Add, and tap Share.

Invite others to join an Instagram Group Fundraiser:

  1. Once you’ve created your fundraiser, tap Share.
  2. Tap Invite Collaborators.
  3. Invite the account(s) you would like to join the fundraiser.
  4. Once the invitees accept, their usernames show in the fundraiser. The fundraiser is also added to their profile.

Fundraise on Instagram Stories Using a Donation Sticker

  1. Open the camera and upload one of our graphics, or your own photo.
  2. Tap the sticker icon.
  3. Select the Donation sticker from the tray.
  4. Search for and select Sanctuary for Families (@sffny).
  5. Customize your fundraiser using Stories creative tools.
  6. Tap Send To, then tap Share next to Your Story.
  7. You can add multiple images or videos to build your fundraising story.

Prefer Twitter to Facebook or Instagram? 

  1. Add our donation link to your bio. 
  2. When you post, drive your followers to the link in your bio

Have questions? 

Direct message us on any of our social media accounts or email communications@sffny.org

Thank you for supporting Sanctuary for Families. We are dedicated to the safety, healing, and self-determination of victims of domestic violence and related forms of gender violence. Through comprehensive services for our clients and their children, and through outreach, education, and advocacy, we strive to create a world in which freedom from gender violence is a human right.

Women & Girls in the U.S. Are At Risk of Female Genital Mutilation

FGM is happening in our own backyard, threatening the health and lives of more than half a million Americans.

Every year, on February 6, Sanctuary joins thousands of advocates across the world to observe the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)—A form of gender-based violence endured by more than 200 million women and girls worldwide that involves the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

What is FGM?

Female genital mutilation is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights. It is a universal practice, not prescribed by any religious teachings, typically performed on girls from infancy through puberty. Victims of FGM often suffer from severe, long-lasting physical and psychological harm, and many have lost their lives to this form of violence.

Immediate complications and health risks associated with this practice can include severe pain, excessive bleeding, swelling of genital tissue, fever, infection, urinary problems, injury to surrounding genital tissue, shock, and death. Long-term consequences can include urinary, vaginal, and menstrual issues, painful genital scarring and keloids, decreased sexual pleasure, reduced sexual functioning, and increased risk of complications during childbirth, as well as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”), among other psychological problems.

Prevalence of FGM in the United States

Due to the secretive nature of FGM and the lack of resources allocated to the research of this practice, it is impossible to say for sure how many girls in the U.S. are at risk of female genital mutilation. Nonetheless, we know from experience that FGM is taking place in our own backyard, at alarming rates.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. have experienced or are currently at risk of undergoing this practice. This is more than three times higher than an earlier estimate based on 1990 data. Based on survivors’ testimony and research conducted by Sanctuary and other anti-FGM advocates, we believe that the incidence of FGM for women and girls in the United States may be even higher. Our data shows that FGM is being practiced in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Washington, California, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Kentucky, Kansas, and Washington, D.C. It also suggests an even greater number of girls from the U.S. are taken abroad to be subjected to this violence, a practice known as “vacation cutting.” Today, however, there is no federal prohibition on this rampant violation of women’s rights in the United States.

FGM Legislation in the United States

The U.S. stands with Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and thirteen other countries in Western Europe in banning female genital mutilation. The practice was first banned by Congress in 1996 with the adoption of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (18 U.S.C. § 116). Because this federal ban fell short in addressing the issue of vacation cutting, Sanctuary and fellow advocates fought to protect American girls abroad and succeeded. In 2013, the act was amended to outlaw the transport of women and girls out of the U.S. for the purpose of FGM.

The first blow to the federal FGM prohibition came in 2018, when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan returned a decision in the matter United States v. Nagarwala. In November of that year, Judge Friedman dropped most of the charges against the defendants, two doctors and four parents accused of mutilating the genitals of nine young girls. Five of the nine girls had been transported across state lines from Minnesota and Illinois (where state FGM prohibitions existed) to Michigan (where no state-level prohibition existed at the time). Prosecutors also estimated that Dr. Nagarwala and her accomplices may have cut as many as 100 girls.  Judge Friedman, however, declared in his ruling that the 1996 federal ban was unconstitutional:

“FGM is a ‘local criminal activity’ which, in keeping with longstanding tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress.” – Judge Bernard Friedman

The District Court’s decision was driven in part by the misguided belief that FGM cannot be a commercial activity and that the “market” for FGM was limited to the parents of the nine girls in this case. Fortunately, the STOP FGM Act of 2020, introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and signed by President Trump in January 2021, closed this loophole by amending the FGM statute to clarify the commercial nature of the practice. The new law also increased criminal penalties for performing FGM and expanded the scope of punishable offenses.

TAKE ACTION

Like other forms of gender-based violence, female genital mutilation is pervasive and cannot be eradicated based solely on state criminal laws. In addition to enacting new laws to deter U.S. families from practicing female genital mutilation, both at home and abroad, we must fight the misconceptions fueled by the profound lack of public awareness and research on the topic of FGM. Survivors from varying backgrounds—Christian, Muslim, American, West African, Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian—have courageously come forward to share their stories and advocate against the practice.  It is time we listen to them.

Special thanks to our partners at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP for supporting our research and anti-FGM advocacy efforts. 

Donate today and declare zero tolerance for FGM so that girls in 2022 and beyond can live free from violence.

giving tuesday; facebook; fundraiser

Giving Tuesday Is Almost Here—Plan Your Fundraiser Today!

Sanctuary’s clients have felt the effects of this pandemic more than most, and we hope you’ll think of them on this special day.

Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! 

During this time of great stress and isolation, Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to come together with people from around the world in the spirit of generosity. Sanctuary’s clients have felt the effects of this pandemic more than most, and we hope you’ll think of them on December 1st—the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

If you’d like to increase your impact, you can create a Facebook fundraiser to get your friends and family involved in our mission to end gender-based violence. It’s an easy and effective way to get the word out about our work.

Create my facebook fundraiser

Facebook is matching up to $100,000 for every non-profit in the U.S. You can make an incredible difference with just a few minutes’ work. 

  1. Click here to create your own Facebook fundraiser.
  2. Click ‘Select Nonprofit’ and search for Sanctuary for Families. You’ll know it’s us by our logo!
  3. Set your goal and tell your friends why you’re supporting Sanctuary or why supporting survivors is important to you.
  4. Start sharing your fundraiser Monday evening and all through the end of the day on Tuesday!

100% of donations made through Facebook go to the nonprofit organization; which means every dollar goes to our cause.

Sanctuary for Families is dedicated to the safety, healing, and self-determination of victims of domestic violence and related forms of gender violence. Through comprehensive services for our clients and their children, and through outreach, education, and advocacy, we strive to create a world in which freedom from gender violence is a basic human right.

Holiday Highlights 2019

Mark your calendars for #GivingTuesday on December 3rd!

Sanctuary for Families is proud to announce another extremely successful season of holiday giving programs! We received countless new toys, books, clothing, as well as thousands of dollars in cash and gift card donations!

We are so grateful to all who gave their time, energy, and resources as holiday helpers, Adopt-a-Family Program donors, and gift drive organizers and contributors. Thank you again for your generosity and thoughtfulness. These gifts provided much needed joy to our clients, and eased what can be a difficult transition into a new year.

Here are just a few wonderful things that happened over the holiday season:

1. 161 of our highest-needs families had their entire holiday wish lists fulfilled by incredibly generous donors—thank you for bringing joy to survivors of gender violence during this busy season.

2. Nearly 100 amazing volunteer who wrapped, sorted and organized gifts—We couldn’t have reached so many clients without you!

Macy’s

Capital One

First National Bank

3. Handing out thousands of additional games, toys, and gifts to over 1,200 adults and children who receive services at Sanctuary.

4. We gave out hundreds of gift cards – empowering our clients to buy presents for themselves and their loved ones.

5. The amazing and dedicated staff members who coordinated this massive movement of donations, gifts and parties.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped make the holidays a very special time for all of our clients! We could not have done this work without you!

Best,

Emily Lo Bue, Jessica Francois and Geneva Morales

Sanctuary for Families’ Volunteer and In-kind Donation Team