December 3rd Marks Liz Claiborne Inc. 6th Annual National "It's Time to Talk Day"

Thursday, December 3, 2009 marks Liz Claiborne Inc.’s sixth annual It’s Time to Talk Day, a day dedicated to ensuring that Americans speak-up about a subject that most people simply prefer not to discuss — domestic violence.

This year Liz Claiborne Inc. continues their very successful partnership with Talk Radio News Service by sponsoring their annual Domestic Violence Talk Radio Row at Liz Claiborne headquarters in New York City. Leading national and local talk radio hosts will once again conduct back-to-back interviews with guests on various domestic violence issues throughout the entire day.

CAEPV has been proud to be involved in It’s Time to Talk Day since its inception and looks forward to participating this year. It’s Time to Talk Day events will be held nationwide, including at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC with Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

I will be participating in a “Talk Radio Row” on domestic violence at Liz Claiborne headquarters in New York. Major partners for this year’s event include The Department of Justice, CBS Evening News, REDBOOK, Seventeen, DoSomething.org, one, MTV, the Joyful Heart Foundation, Talkers Magazine and Talk Radio News Service.

For more information visit http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/

(And don't forget to "take a moment to talk" in your life!)

Hope For Peace

If you think the media does not care about domestic violence and won't cover the issue unless it's a sensational story - I have something wonderful to share with you.

KNWA (Northwest Arkansas) has been doing a weekly series every Wednesday called "Hope For Peace."

The series started October 7 and the series continues through the end of November. You can view all the archived stories at http://nwahomepage.com/content/hope.

And these are not little one minute stories - these are long 4-5 minute segments devoted to the issue.

This week the issue was domestic violence and the impact on the workplace. Previous segments have included Arkansas Governor Beebe discussing his own family's heartbreak over domestic violence.

I give BIG kudos to the management at KNWA and to anchor Neile Jones for getting the stories and the information out. And for taking the time to really delve into the issue in this way.

We all "hope for peace" -- and KNWA is truly trying to do something about it. Again, that link is http://nwahomepage.com/content/hope.

A True "Hero of the Heart"

Our CAEPV Member Joyful Heart Foundation has launched a wonderful new magazine, Reunion. It is something really special, and you can check it out here: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/uniflip_publication/index.html

Inside the premiere issue they highlight a wonderful “Hero of the Heart” -- my dear friend Jane Randel.

Jane also happens to be the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Liz Claiborne Inc. I don't think I know anyone as dedicated to working to make this a world where "love is not abuse" than Jane.

She is truly a "Hero of the Heart" -- and she won't like that I wrote this blog and mentioned this article, because she is one of the most humble people that I know. Which is one of the reasons I love her so much!

To read that article and learn about Jane’s determination to make this a world free of violence, click here.

Good Morning America's Interview with Rihanna

Good Morning America aired an interview with Rihanna this morning and yesterday morning. The entirety of the interview will be show on 20/20 tonight. (To see a previous post on this subject, click here.)

Rihanna was 20 years-old, and Chris Brown, 19, when they were involved in a brutal case of relationship violence. The Chris Brown and Rihanna incident should not go by with out talking about the urgent need for education on teen dating violence and abuse.

Link to the Rihanna interview on Good Morning America:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/rihanna-speaks-chris-brown-assault/story?id=8999410

For wonderful resources for teens and their parents, head to http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/.