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About Between Friends:
Between Friends is dedicated to building a community without domestic
violence. To this end, we provide comprehensive services for survivors
of domestic violence and prevention programming for youth. Our signature
program is our Relationship Education: A Choice for Hope (REACH) Teen
Healthy Relationships Program. REACH is the largest and most comprehensive
program of its kind in Illinois, touching the lives of thousands of Chicago
teens each year.
Many girls who experience dating violence feel so ashamed and scared
that they won't tell anyone - not Cherise! Cherise, a seventh grade student,
called our crisis line after completing the REACH Program to share that
while her parents were out of town, her 16-year-old boyfriend pressured
her to have sex. She refused and began to recognize the warning signs
of teen dating abuse that we had discussed in class. Soon after, she broke
up with her boyfriend and let us know how thankful she was for our program
and support.
 To
raise funds for our services to survivors of partner violence, such as
Cherise, Between Friends holds an annual benefit- the Bubble Ball. In
2009, Between Friends connected with volunteer Joslyn Shelton through
WomenOnCall.org. Joslyn joined our planning committee to help solicit
sponsorship and support for the Bubble Ball. Joslyn has been a great asset
to our planning committee. She has been persistent and creative in her
efforts to solicit sponsorships. Although her work schedule requires that
she travel quite a bit, Joslyn regularly communicates her progress- often
from airports and hotel rooms! We are grateful for Joslyn’s dedication
to ending domestic violence and to WomenOnCall.org for helping us to make
this connection.
 About
Joslyn Shelton:
For two years, while living in Houston, Joslyn Shelton was an engineer
by day and volunteered at both a children’s hospital and an elementary
school in the evenings. When Ms. Shelton had to leave Houston for a job
opportunity in Chicago, she was sad to leave the friends she had made
and interrupt the positive work she was doing with children while volunteering.
After about three months of living in Chicago, her life didn’t feel
as balanced, so she knew she needed to start giving back to the community.
Ms. Shelton did her research and fortunately for her, she found WomenOnCall.org!
WomenOnCall.org is great for Ms. Shelton because of all the suitable volunteer
opportunities available on a day-to-day basis. Between Friends was the
first opportunity she jumped at, as she is a huge advocate for helping
to lower the rate of domestic violence in our communities. Being on the
sponsorship committee for the annual Bubble Ball has taught her a lot
about navigating through different avenues to secure sponsorship. Ms.
Shelton plans to continue to volunteer with Between Friends in other ways
as they have a very positive and proactive culture. She would recommend
everyone check them out along with WomenOnCall.org!
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