The audience will consist mainly of law enforcement and victim advocates. The goal is to press upon the audience the importance of teaching teens that any form of violence is unacceptable. Many of the officers will be School Resource Officers and will be strongly encouraged to conduct classes on teen dating violence.

“What makes this event so great is we’ll be speaking directly with people in law enforcement. Their careers are looking out for the innocents among us.” said Mr. Mitchell. ”I’ll never forget the law enforcement people in Montgomery County, PA who treated us with such care and concern when my daughter was killed back in 2005. They were thorough in everything they handled on our case. They were accessible then, and we remain good friends today.”

“I’m also in awe of those who work as victim’s advocates. Four of our board members work directly in the domestic violence area. They face the issue head-on every day,” Mr. Mitchell said today. “I always learn something new and useful when I speak with these unselfish people who work in this field. They put all of their focus on the domestic violence issue.”

The event will take place at 8 a.m. at the police academy, which is located at the Dundalk Community College’s Building B. The address: 7200 Sollers Point Road, Baltimore, MD.

NEW YORK – Yumi Barak-Vong, is an exceptional all-around artist. Now she has created an original rosary and necklace design just for Kristin Mitchell. It was added to her shop, Our Lady of Spades, on Etsy.com.

For every purchase made, Ms. Barak-Vong will be sending the Kristin Mitchell Foundation 15% of all proceeds. 


http://etsy.me/JTg1S8

Here is a description from the artist, Miss Yumi:
It’s called “Kristin’s Ave.” Ave means a poetic or literary a shout of welcome – or farewell. Like “Ave, Maria!”

The design features pink glass pearls, black faceted beads and peach Swarovski crystals. It’s an Our Lady of Spades original design, which measures 21″ in length.
 Our Lady of Spades rosaries and necklaces serve as a reminder to all women to respect themselves, care for others and travel safe.

An avid adventure explorer with a history of island-hopping, Miss Yumi has lived on different coasts and had “many lives.” After a successful career in advertising and graphic design, she has chosen to focus on working with nonprofits and acting.

Bill Mitchell, president of the Kristin Mitchell Foundation has known Yumi Barak-Vong for over a dozen years. “She’s the daughter of a great artist, Daniel Vong, and she’s a great artist, herself. My wife and I are so pleased that Yumi decided to create this for our daughter, Kristin. It’s such a wonderful gesture.”

Our Lady of Spades creates rosaries and necklaces to promote education about sexual violence.

This will be our 7th annual event, and we couldn’t be more excited! Especially following our most-recent Kristin’s Krusades which have that broken previous records.

It’s also SJU’s Family Weekend, so we’re sure to have our greatest event ever.

Join Kristin Mitchell’s friends and family at this gathering of those who intend to put a stop to dating violence in our time. This is our greatest vehicle to gain awareness, and we need you to help us.

More details will be added as we have them. Thank you for your participation!

The following excerpts, from two emails today, point out the goodwill felt by interested members of the Immaculata community.

Hi Bill,
I thought you and Michele would also like to see this – an email I received from one of our staff members who attended the program. She approached me last week and told me it was “the best program she has ever attended on our campus.” She followed up today with the email below.  I sent her the link to the website for any additional comments that she would like to add – and she also said that you post her email content, if you would like, on the KMF Website.

I’m so happy to see how successful the program was in impacting our campus as a whole!

Courtney Murphy
Coordinator: Educational Programming
Student Development & Engagement
Career Development
Immaculata University

————————————–

Courtney,
I wanted you to know Bill Mitchell’s presentation at “Take Back the Night” was an amazing experience for me. The information he presented gave me an opportunity to understand the difficulties of dating relationships in today’s social environment; his delivery was very personal, heartfelt and meaningful. Immaculata was fortunate to have Mr. Mitchell address our students with straightforward and honest information on this subject. Would there be consideration given to adding this type of information to the FYE program or to offer a workshop to incoming students? I am certain that all students (men and women) would benefit having the knowledge to “help themselves” and to “help a friend” as expressed by Mr. Mitchell.

Thank you again for your part in arranging the program on Wednesday evening.

Kind regards,
Barbara

Barbara M. Scudder
Bruder Center
Immaculata University

Dear Bill and Michele,
I just wanted to thank you again for coming to Immaculata and making our first Take Back the Night such an incredible event. I cannot express to you how much your presence and participation impacted our campus. I knew that your presentation would be extremely well-received and have a huge impact on our faculty and students, but I cannot say that I fully expected yesterday (Thursday) to go as it did. From the moment I arrived in my office on campus at 9:00am, to the moment I left class at 8:00pm, I was approached by someone different regarding your presentation – every time I walked into a different office or building. This includes students, staff, undergraduate and graduate faculty, as well as many sisters from our IHM community.

I was approached by many students throughout the day who expressed their gratitude for the experience. I think the full impact of your presentation really hit me when I was approached by a number of students the following day who were incredibly moved by the program. This was enough for me to realize that we reached our goal. We discussed in previous emails that if we could help at least one person, then my goal would be met. Based on yesterday’s many encounters similar to the previous, I’m so happy to be able to say with confidence that we exceeded this goal.

I consider myself, as well as Immaculata, very lucky to be introduced to you and the Kristin Mitchell Foundation.

Thank you for taking the time to bring Kristin’s story to our campus. The program was incredible. I look forward to helping out in any way that I can at Kristin’s Krusade this fall.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Courtney

Courtney Murphy
Coordinator: Educational Programming
Student Development & Engagement
Career Development
Immaculata University

Immaculata’s Dean of Students, John D. Stafford, M.S., introduced the keynote speaker, Bill Mitchell, who is the president of the Kristin Mitchell Foundation. Mr. Mitchell spoke and answered questions about his daughter, Kristin Mitchell, who was murdered by her boyfriend in June 2005. He provided Immaculata students with an eye-opening account of the realities of dating violence.

Besides explaining what happened to Kristin, who was 21 at the time and had just graduated from Saint Joseph’s University, Mr. Mitchell gave other examples of dating abuse that he had gathered from years of focus on this issue. He told the interested audience stories about young women who had experienced dating abuse. Probably, most-importantly, Mr. Mitchell not only explained many of the warning signs, but disseminated Warning Signs cards that the Kristin Mitchell Foundation had created.

After the event, Mr. Mitchell said, ”What’s so great about being here to speak at an event like this, is you can see the transformative power of the getting the word out. Of course there are people here who know exactly what dating violence is. There are some who have experienced it first hand. But there are also those who are, frankly, without any fundamental understanding of what this is. By the time we’re through talking, believe me, they are very well-grounded in it.”

Bill Mitchell says he always hits these several key points,  ”It’s all about control. If something feels wrong to you – assume that it is wrong. Get immediate professional help. And, breaking up is the most-dangerous time.” His passion for this subject is what most remember about his presentation.

After the informative and emotional speech, there was a student-led reflection before the candlelight vigil and final blessing. A representative of the Crime Victim’s Center of Chester County provided supportive resources during the program. Friends and families of the students were also invited to attend this special event.

The first Take Back the Night took place in Philadelphia in 1975 but today the event is held across the globe. For more information, please contactcmurphy@immaculata.edu.

Immaculata University is a residential, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher education, located on the Main Line between Malvern and Exton, 20 miles west of Philadelphia.

2012 KRISTIN’S KRUSADE
The 2012 Kristin’s Krusade will be held November 3rd, which is Family Weekend at Saint Joseph’s University. The foundation is very happy to join with the Family Weekend Committee again for this important fundraiser. The Kristin’s Krusade 5K Run/Walk was held on Family Weekend in 2010 and experienced its largest turnout ever. They expect to break that record this year.

KMF GRANTS
Other important topics covered included the awarding of grants in 2012. Empowering others to teach is a key focus of the foundation and its focused mission “to support educational efforts that raise awareness among young adults about the dangers of unhealthy dating relationships.” Bill Mitchell, president of KMF, said, “The foundation is very excited in this area because it’s such a tangible way to get critical education to those who can use it best.” In 2012, the foundation aims to award more grants than ever before.

KMF ELECTIONS
Elections were held at this annual meeting. There were no surprises when Bill Mitchell (president), Patty Mark (treasurer) and Michele Mitchell (secretary) were re-elected and will serve their third consecutive terms.

Afterwards, Mr. Mitchell said, “It’s an honor to join with our board members in this noble venture. I have profound respect for each director as a person, and for what they bring to the organization. I look forward to this group finding new ways to fulfill our mission. We’ve been told we have already saved a few lives. I don’t know if that’s an absolute certainty, but I know we’ve definitely improved the lives of some people. This is what my daughter, Kristin, would have wanted us to do. She loved her friends and wanted to protect them. I feel that’s what we’re doing today.”

The Kristin’s Krusade 5K Run/Walk began in 2006 to keep Kristin Mitchell’s memory alive, and to get the word out about dating violence. The Kristin Mitchell Foundation was created in 2007.

Mr. Mitchell’s message was clear, “If you remember nothing else from this morning, remember this: it’s all about control.” Mr. Mitchell has been an outspoken advocate about the need for education about dating violence. He handed out wallet-sized cards that display the most telling signs of impending potential dating violence in a relationship. “We didn’t know the first thing about this when Kristin was living, but we do now, and we’re getting the word out,” he said.

The estimated audience of 120 seniors was joined by faculty and administration, in the Constance and Samuel Pistorio Sports Complex.

Mr. Mitchell showed a video he created about his daughter, who was murdered in 2005 by her boyfriend only three weeks after her college graduation. He followed with a PowerPoint presentation, and spoke about her life and tragic death. The seniors had many insightful questions, which Mr. Mitchell answered candidly. Afterwards, Mount de Sales teachers and members of the administration asked if he would return to speak again, and, he said, “Yes!” Since 1852, Mount de Sales Academy has educated thousands of young women from Baltimore and beyond in a tradition of academic excellence within a vibrant Catholic community.

Bill Mitchell’s next speaking engagement about dating violence will be April 18th, at Immaculata University near Philadelphia, as the keynote speaker at their first annual “Take Back The Night” event.

Mr. Mitchell, the father of Kristin Mitchell, was very pleased that NDP brought in the entire high school population for this important event. “This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to speak before high school students in such a setting.” It is estimated NDP had, in attendance, over 600 students. “I didn’t know they were bringing in everybody, he said.” In addition, there were many teachers and members of the school’s administration as well.

When asked why the dating violence message is not put in front of more high schools, Mr. Mitchell said, “I believe they don’t know better. They make the classic mistake of thinking DV doesn’t happen with their students. They feel it’s an icky subject, too. So why upset everyone with a sad story about an isolated incident? What they don’t know is dating violence is all around us, and it’s avoidable.”

Bill Mitchell will speak this coming Friday, March 16th, at Mount de Sales Academy in Baltimore, MD. This is the high school where Kristin graduated. In April, he has a keynote speech at Immaculata University, near Philadelphia.

Mr. Mitchell added, “I feel speaking out about dating violence is what Kristin would want. And as long as people ask me to do this, I feel it’s what I’m supposed to do.”