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JoyROCKS 2013: Celebrating Our Los Angeles Community and the Launch of the NO MORE PSA Campaign
On the evening of Thursday, September 26, 2013 at our biennial Los Angeles event, JoyROCKS, the Joyful Heart staff, board, LA committee members and 350 of our dedicated supporters turned out to celebrate Joyful Heart’s work and the launch of the NO MORE PSA campaign.
Only our second-ever gala in Los Angeles, it was an unforgettable night, made possible by our co-chairs Shelli Azoff, Adi Greenberg, Helen Kinnear, Christa Miller, Heather Mnuchin, Christina Noonan, Noelle Wolf and Joyful Heart’s LA Committee. Sponsored by GTE Agency and Wolf Films, JoyROCKS was made even more remarkable by our venue, Milk Studios, which holds a special place in our hearts and in the history of the NO MORE PSA campaign. It was there that we held our west coast PSA shoot for the campaign with Joyful Heart’s Founder & President, Mariska Hargitay at the helm, directing our video spots, and world-renowned photographer Timothy White capturing strength, courage, compassion and determination through his lens for the print images.
We were honored to come back to Milk Studios to truly bring the NO MORE PSA campaign to life, its beautiful space providing the perfect backdrop for our celebration—a blank slate transformed into joy and vibrancy.
After guests got their NO MORE pins and mingled, taking their own NO MORE photos at our photobooth and exploring the NO MORE creative that was hung throughout the space, a flashmob helped to gather guests for dinner.
The program began with Peter Hermann, Joyful Heart Board Member and the evening’s emcee, regaling the audience with the top ten reasons he was chosen to host JoyROCKS. In addition to introducing our Los Angeles community to NO MORE, he recapped our transformative work in Los Angeles and California, which has, over the years, included:
- Directly serving over 5,200 survivors and the professionals who care for them;
- Collaborating with the Los Angeles PD, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office and our partners at Peace Over Violence, Human Rights Watch and the Santa Monica Rape Crisis Treatment center to eliminate LA’s rape kit backlog and on ongoing rape kit reform;
- Rallying our community to restore $489 million in funding California’s domestic violence shelter program;
- Partnering with the Children’s Institute, Inc. on the first-ever national conference on vicarious trauma; and
- Conducting research by independent evaluators and a team from the UCLA School of Public Heath to find that our retreat programs for survivors are life changing and transformative experiences.
Later in the program, Peter unveiled the NO MORE PSAs, which featured more than 40 celebrities engaging bystanders to say NO MORE excuses. NO MORE silence. NO MORE violence. In her emotional remarks, Mariska highlighted the companies and individuals who made them possible: Timothy White, Creative Artists Agency, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, creative genius Rachel Howald, The Whitehouse and Young & Rubicam.
Not a dry eye was left in the house when they finished rolling.
And that brought us to the evening’s honorees—the companies and corporations who not only created the concept of NO MORE, but who, time and time again, say “yes” to turning towards the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse when too many others say “no.” As Maile Zambuto, Joyful Heart’s CEO, said in her speech, their response looks like something this:
YES, we will donate hundreds of millions of dollars to this work.
Avon: YES, we'll launch the Speak Out Against Domestic Violence initiative in more than 50 countries.
Allstate: YES, thousands of employees will volunteer to help support and empower survivors across the country.
Verizon: YES, we'll recycle more than 10 million cell phones and collect 453 million minutes of wireless service to donate to victims of domestic violence.
Mary Kay: YES, we will launch Beauty that Counts, a cause-marketing campaign, to raise funds and awareness through our products.
Kaiser Permanente: YES, we'll train thousands of physicians and health care teams to screen for abuse and be a bridge to safety and healing
Fifth & Pacific: YES, we will be the first company—over 20 years ago—to take a lead role in acknowledging and addressing domestic violence in workplace and YES we will save lives
Finn: YES, we will help craft and shape the messages and engage the media, turning up the volume on these issues.
Sterling Brands: YES, we will create the NO MORE symbol to be an enduring beacon of hope for this movement.
And together, YES, we will be the financial engine behind a new chapter in the anti-violence movement called NO MORE.
Peter articulated where their support, where their commitment, where our community has brought us to: a crossroads. A place where possibility, determination and hope meets perseverance and commitment in the face of some of the most complicated, difficult issues of our time—of all time.
And behind these companies, there are the fearless individuals who stand there with us. One of them, Jane Randel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Fifth & Pacific, accepted the award on their behalf. Graciously, she called for more to join them:
“I am up here representing the handful of companies that have made these issues a priority, and I'm very proud of that. At the same time though, it feels like we simply did our part. We did what was in our power to do.
“Throughout all of this, the companies I am representing have had the same goal: move these issues forward and drive greater involvement not only from the general public, but from our corporate peers. There is no question: other companies need to start working with us to end this.”
The night also provided an opportunity to celebrate those in the domestic violence and sexual assault fields who have worked tirelessly for more than 40 years on these issues, including the entire NO MORE steering committee: 1in6, Inc., A CALL TO MEN, Break the Cycle, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Casa de Esperanza, Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, Futures Without Violence, Joe Torre Safe At Home® Foundation, Joyful Heart Foundation, Men Can Stop Rape, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Domestic Violence Hotline, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, National Sexual Violence Resource Center, National Sexual Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project, Safe Horizon, and U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
As Mariska said at JoyROCKS, the people who lead these organizations, “have been my wise and compassionate guides… the people who have been doing this work for the last forty years, whose determined hearts fueled have this movement.” We are so grateful for all the work that they have done over these many years. But how do you show people how truly grateful you are for all that they have done?
In a late night planning meeting, Mariska, Peter and Maile came up with many ideas but none of it seemed like enough. And we kept going back and forth, and finally Peter said, “Alright, if all options were open, what would you want to do for them, how do you think they deserve to be honored?” And there was a pause, and then Maile said, “Well God, they deserve a ticker tape parade.” So that’s what we did.
Elle King, soul-rock banjo-playing star, rocked the audience with a few songs at the end of the evening and Samantha Ronson rounded out the night by spinning the latest and greatest hits for the many guests who took to the dance floor.
All of this was only possible because of your support. We raised more than $675,000 to support our life-saving programs such as Heal the Healers, our Education & Awareness work like the NO MORE PSA campaign and our Policy & Advocacy work to end the rape kit backlog. Thank you for all that you do to make our work possible.
Read the coverage of the JoyROCKS and NO MORE in the news here.
Take Action: How You Can Get Involved
SAY IT.
Learn about these issues and talk openly about them. Break the silence. Speak out. Seek help when you see this problem or harassment of any kind in your family, your community, your workplace or school. Upload your photo to the NO MORE gallery and tell us why you say NO MORE.
SHARE IT.
Help raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault by sharing NO MORE. Share the PSAs. Download the Tools to Say NO MORE and share NO MORE with everyone you know. Facebook it. Tweet it. Instagram it. Pin it.
SHOW IT.
Show NO MORE by wearing your NO MORE gear everyday, supporting partner groups working to end domestic violence and sexual assault and volunteering in your community.
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