Get Pumped Up! ^{Comments Off}

Join other brave men who will be Walking A Mile in Her Shoes at the Get Pumped Up event on Thursday April 12th from 6-9 at The Southern. Music, food, and great spirits abound as Walkers show off their shoes, learn how to Walk from a pro, and get pictures to help them with fundraising (as taken by ClicKs Photography in our “photo booth”).  Hip Replacements will be on-site with shoes for sale if you “forgot” yours in the back of the closet.

Register for the Walk (if you haven’t already), create your personalized FirstGiving fundraising page, and have fun at the expense of other’s foot-related woes!

Put the call out to your friends, family, and co-workers and have them join you for this sneak-peek before the Walk on April 28th. Just imagine how great you’ll look in heels… drinking a beer!

This event is $5/person and is a fundraiser for the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event benefiting Our VOICE.

For more information please contact Our VOICE – (828) 252-0562 or email Development Coordinator, Robin Payne - robinp@ourvoicenc.org

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Thanks to the amazing work of Bruce Kennedy! We are so thankful for all of the great community support for the Walk (did you see Greg from The Hop, the giant pizza from Marco’s Pizzeria, and Kip from Hip Replacements… who else did you see?)

If you’re man enough to Walk the Walk then you need to join us on Saturday April 28th in downtown Asheville — show the women in your life that you are willing to take a stand, put on some heels, and march with other men against sexual violence.

The question remains… do YOU need some new shoes? REGISTER TODAY!

2011 Twice the Men in Heels, Twice the Money Raised! ⁰

Thanks to everyone for an amazing 2nd Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. 300 Walkers (men and the women who love them) came out on a beautiful Saturday morning to Walk the Walk and in the process raised over $20,000 for Our VOICE.

Big props to our award winners:

Top Team Fundraiser – Marco’s Pizzeria
Top Individual Fundraiser – Bruce Kennedy
First Team Across the Finish Line – The Hop
First Individual Across the Finish Line – Billy Beard
Team that Walked the Extra Mile – EarthFare West Asheville
Most Pumped Individual – Jonathan Rich (White Lightning)

Also a huge thanks for the support of the following businesses:

Hip Replacements
EarthFare
WLOS
Asheville Citizen-Times
Mountain Xpress

We are humbled by the support from our community and can’t wait to do it all over again in 2012!

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Our VOICE is excited to be hosting Walk A Mile in Her Shoes on Saturday April 28th in downtown Asheville. This is the 11th year for the International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault, and Gender Violence and we are proud to be bringing this event to Asheville.

Last year, over 300 such walks were held across the country and tens of thousands of men (women and children too!) put on high heeled shoes as a symbolic gesture to walk in solidarity with women.  This visually riveting community event is a great opportunity for your business to show support for the men who are taking a stand against violence.  It is also a great way to let the community know you care about women’s issues and are willing to take a stand against sexual violence.

Join hundreds of other outstanding men in our community who are not afraid to Walk the Walk!

Sexual violence does not just affect women. It affects the people who care about them, their families, friends, coworkers, and their communities. Every two minutes someone in America is raped. In the U.S. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are victims of sexual violence in their lifetimes. That means someone you know, someone you care about, has or will become the victim of sexual violence. It may be your mother, father, sister, brother, friend, partner, coworker, daughter or son. No one is unaffected.

Isn’t this making fun of a serious issue?

Having fun with a serious issue and adding “shock value” brings attention to the cause and therefore raises awareness about sexual violence.  The goal of the Walk is to bring light to a subject that is all too often left in the dark. By focusing on the positive aspect of a community coming together around this topic, the Walk strives to empower individuals to take a stand against sexual violence.

Doesn’t this just promote gender stereotyping?

The concept of men wearing high heels is meant to make a commentary on gender roles in our society.  It is representative of men taking a stand on a topic that has since been viewed as only a women’s issue.  It provides an opportunity for men to dispute the harmful attitudes and behaviors that condone sexual violence in our community.