“Telling Amy’s Story” NYC Premiere and It’s Time to Talk Day Launch

On December 7, 2010, Joyful Heart co-hosted the New York premiere of “Telling Amy’s Story,” a documentary that chronicles the events leading up to the death of Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two who was shot and killed by her husband. The documentary, funded by the Verizon Foundation, was created by Penn State Public Broadcasting and has aired on nearly 300 local public televisions stations, covering 85% of the US population. Mariska Hargitay introduced the documentary and took part in a question and answer session about domestic violence at the end of the film. Joyful Heart, along with a number of other partners, helped to develop the documentary.

The “Telling Amy’s Story” New York screening was hosted by Verizon, Liz Claiborne Inc. and the Joyful Heart Foundation. It was the first time that Verizon and Liz Claiborne, two of the biggest corporate leaders on domestic violence awareness and prevention, came together to work on an event like this. Over 250 were in attendance and Meredith Vieira, co-host of the Today show, emceed. Jim Gerace, President of Verizon Communications, and Bill McComb, CEO of Liz Claiborne, gave remarks. The question and answer session featured experts including Detective Deirdri Fishel of the State College Pennsylvania Police Department; Kim Wells, Executive Director of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence; Yolanda Jimenez of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence in New York City; Melanie Doebler, Director of the Penn State Public Broadcasting; Martha Delehanty, a Senior Vice President at Verizon; and Linda Fairstein, author and former prosecutor, who is also the Vice-Chair of the Joyful Heart Foundation Board of Directors.

"Telling Amy's Story" NYC Premiere

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The “Telling Amy’s Story” New York screening was also the kick-off for Liz Claiborne’s Its Time to Talk Day, a national day of dialogue to raise awareness for ways to end domestic violence and teen dating abuse. Throughout the day, leading talk radio hosts from around the country interview more than 80 guests—including Joyful Heart Executive Director Maile Zambuto—about what can be done to end the cycle of abuse, how to get involved in prevention, and how and where victims can get help.

To learn more about “Telling Amy’s Story,” visit the documentary’s website at telling.psu.edu.

For information about It’s Time to Talk Day and Liz Claiborne’s ongoing efforts to reduce intimate partner violence, visit the Love is Not Abuse website.