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V-Day Announces Its 2002 Benefit Show in NYC -- V-Day Harlem 2002

03/04/2002

Produced by Actors LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez at the World Famous Apollo Theatre, Saturday, March 30

Benefit Proceeds to Go to Community Groups Dedicated to Stopping Violence Against Women and Girls

Cast To Include Naomi Campbell, Rosario Dawson, Denyce Graves, Amel Larrieux, La Chanze, Angie Martinez, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Lynn Whitfield And V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler, Among Others.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster; In association with HBO, CR Enterprises, Inc., and People En Español.

CONTACT: Susan Celia Swan for V-Day (917) 538-8366, press (at) vday.org

February 28, 2002 - New York, NY

V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, today announced its 2002 benefit show in NYC - V-Day Harlem 2002, presented by ESSENCE, in association with HBO, CR Enterprises, Inc. and People En Español, at the world famous Apollo Theatre on Saturday, March 30 at 7:00PM. V-Day Harlem 2002 is the passion of actors LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez, who have both performed in V-Day benefits, including last year's sold-out V-Day 2001 event at Madison Square Garden, as well as in commercial productions of "The Vagina Monologues" throughout the country.

Produced by Hamilton and Perez, V-Day Harlem 2002 will feature a performance of V-Day Artistic Director and Founder Eve Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues," music, and dance by a diverse cast including: LisaGay Hamilton, Rosie Perez, Naomi Campbell, Lynn Whitfield, Mary Alice, Kim Coles, Rosario Dawson, Sully Diaz, Eve Ensler, Takayo Fischer, Cynthia Garrett, Hazelle Goodman, Denyce Graves, bell hooks, LaChanze, Amel Larrieux, Joie Lee, Angie Martinez, Tonya Pinkins, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Tamara Tunie, Lauren Velez, Lorraine Velez, and Kerry Washington, among others.

Proceeds from V-Day Harlem 2002 will benefit the African American Task Force on Violence Against Women In Central Harlem; The Dominican Women's Development Center, the Violence Intervention Program; and Sakhi; all are community-based organizations dedicated to stopping violence against women.

On the announcement, LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez stated, "After witnessing the effect of V-Day 2001 last year at Madison Square Garden, we were compelled to bring V-Day to Harlem. We invite everyone in the community to join us at V-Day Harlem, to come together to stop violence against women and girls."

Eve Ensler, V-Day Artistic Director/Founder and Playwright, noted, "V-Day's mission is to end violence against women and girls by raising awareness and funds. This year, over 800 V-Day benefits will do just that in cities from Cebu City, Phillipines, to South Central, LA, from Paris, France to Juarez, Mexico. It is so very exciting to see V-Day come to Harlem in 2002 and we thank the community for its support."

Dr. Camille O. Cosby and Susan L. Taylor of Essence Communications Partners are Honorary Chairs of V-Day Harlem 2002.

"ESSENCE magazine has a proud history of tackling the tough social issues confronting Black women," says Susan L. Taylor, ESSENCE editorial director and V-Day Harlem honorary chairwoman. "V-Day Harlem is a powerful event we are presenting to focus our community on ending violence against women and girls."

Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster - #(877) 870-4929 and http://www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available at the Apollo Box Office at at 253 West 125th Street, #(212) 531-5305, beginning March 1. Ticket prices are $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 and $1000.

For additional information, visit: http://www.essence.com/vdayharlem and http://www.vday.org

In 2002, V-Day has evolved from one day - Valentine's Day - into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 - April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues," are taking place in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world.

Throughout the world, V-Day benefits are shaped by their organizers and the local community. V-Day events range from 5000-seat theatrical productions featuring local stars, actresses and activists to 100 person 'rallies' in the town square. All V-Day benefits feature a performance of "The Vagina Monologues." All donate their proceeds to local organizations that work to stop violence against women and girls.

About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.

V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine's Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003...).

V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine's "100 Best Charities".

About ESSENCE:
With more than 8 million readers, ESSENCE is the preeminent magazine for Black women. Published by Essence Communications Partners, it is the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives. For 31 years, ESSENCE has celebrated personal achievement, chronicled social movement, documented struggles, showcased beauty, defined and set trends, and illustrated the incredible journey of a resilient and splendid race. Additional information about ESSENCE is available at http://www.essence.com.

V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day's 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax.

V-Day's 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day's exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.

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About the V-Day Harlem 2002 Beneficiaries:

African-American Task Force On Violence Against Women In Central Harlem:

The Task Force is dedicated to eradicating violence against women in Harlem by bringing together all of the stakeholders in the community to develop a comprehensive community response. The Task Force believes that all segments of the community are touched by the violence inflicted upon women. To increase the community stakeholders, their work is implemented through strategies of advocacy, outreach, education, and technical support to community organizations, all of which are designed to address the problem of violence against women.

The Dominican Women's Development Center:

The Dominican Women's Development Center supports "Nuevo Amancer" a domestic violence program which includes counseling, advocacy, a 24 hour hotline, crisis intervention, support group & law enforcement personnel training which addresses the particular needs of battered Latina women.

Sakhi:

A community based-organization in the metropolitan area, Sakhi is committed to ending exploitation and violence against women of south Asian origin. When Mohammed Moshin, a batterer, doused his wife with gasoline and set her on fire in September 1995, Sakhi was there to provide ongoing counseling and support for the survivor who spoke little English.

Violence Intervention Program (VIP):

Located in East Harlem, VIP provides a dozen Latina and African-American families with safe dwellings in non-disclosed apartments after severe and violent encounters with spouses and boyfriends. VIP is providing technical assistance to the prosecution in the case of a prominent Latino activist who is charged with the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend, Gladys Ricota, as she stood on her lawn on her wedding day. Through these efforts, along with counseling and advocacy, VIP has raised awareness and encouraged more women to seek help before it is too late.