The Verde Valley School hosted its first Move-A-Thon to raise money for the Verde Valley Sanctuary.
Florentine Appelhans, a junior at Verde Valley School, organized the entire event with help from her teachers.
“‘ Int imate par tner violence’ is a hard topic, and many don’t feel comfortable dealing with this issue,” Appelhans said. “But we have to realize that domestic abuse is still a very serious and even growing threat to many women and girls, but also people of every gender. The idea of our walk is to send a signal of solidarity: We stand up, we leave our comfort zone and we demand something of ourselves to shed a light on the situation of people who are exposed to domestic violence.”
From April 4 to April 30, students recorded any mile of movement, which included any activity besides driving. For each mile recorded by a student, donors pledged $2 that went directly to the Verde Valley Sanctuary.
“Thank you, Flo, Vanessa [Trujillo- Tenbrink] and Verde Valley School for raising $2,000 while raising awareness of Intimate Partner Violence,” Verde Valley Sanctuary Community Development Director Tracey McConnell said. “What great friends we have in the community. We are deeply grateful for [their] efforts.”
The fundraiser closed out with a Move- A-Thon on Saturday, April 30, when students walked a 5-kilometer path around the Village of Oak Creek.
According to Trujillo-Tenbrink, assistant director of advancement at Verde Valley School, the Move-A-Thon was a great success for the students and community.
“Not only was over $2,000 raised but the honks, whistles, thumbs up and voices of encouragement from our Sedona community showed our students that awareness of this ever-important cause was well received,” Trujillo-Tenbrink said.
Appelhans, the school administration and the Verde Valley Sanctuary hope that this event and fundraiser can continue for future school years to come.
“The event went well and I realized that it does not take that many people to have an impact and make a difference, especially when raising awareness,” Appelhans said. “I hope that this can be established as a steady and sustainable source of support for the Verde Valley Sanctuary, because even a small thing that one does to raise awareness or get closer to solving this issue, is worth it.”
The Verde Valley Sanctuary accepts donations all year long for their mission to provide a safe space for victims of domestic violence.
“We are grateful for the connections we have created with everyone at the Verde Valley Sanctuary, two ‘VVSes’ with a similar mission, serving others through acts of kindness and generosity,” Trujillo- Tenbrink said.
