On February 21, SAR hosted Go Purple Day, an initiative of Shalom Task Force, a Jewish organization that supports raising awareness for domestic abuse and violence in the Jewish community. This event was organized by Charlotte Filer, Eliana Fromer and Maya Jacobs who participated in the Go Purple Fellowship. This nine-week educational program allows high schoolers to gain awareness about these issues and become advocates for healthy relationships and communication in order to remind people that abuse also exists in the Jewish community as well.

As a culmination of the fellowship, each school group runs Go Purple Day which is a day to raise awareness and money for the Shalom Task Force and get other students involved. The SAR fellows invited a survivor of domestic abuse to share her story. With over 40 people in attendance, it was a powerful moment for students to understand possible realities and tools to navigate these situations.

“Taking the day to raise awareness for domestic violence was extremely important and clearly impactful,” said Jacobs. “After the speaker, the amount of students who came up to us to tell us they were shocked and moved was astronomical. Shalom Task Force has been an amazing fellowship, and it is also an incredible organization. By hosting Go Purple Day, we were able to spread essential information to high school students and had the ability to get the message of ‘You Are Not Alone’ across.”

The students gave out bracelets and stress balls, and sold donuts to further their message. With donations for the important cause, the students raised over $100 and felt that they had made an impact. “Not only did we successfully spread awareness today,” said Filer, “but we are really paving the way for future Go Purple days at SAR.”