As members of the Junior League of Owensboro wake Monday morning, the decision of what to wear is one each has already consciously made. While putting on a little black dress, each knows the purpose behind it — and the week-long advocacy campaign to wear the same black dress each day for five days consecutively as part of the “Little Black Dress Initiative.”
Junior League of Owensboro is using this initiative to illustrate the trauma and devastation of women and children caught in the cycle of domestic violence. League members will use their personal social media to increase awareness and educate the community about domestic violence and provide a link so supporters can make donations that will fund resources and programs at OASIS Women’s Shelter.
“It is a fact that one in three women in the U.S. are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime,” said Stacey Davis, president of the local Junior League chapter. “Nationwide, one in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence, and the vast majority of them are eyewitnesses to that violence. And it happens here in Daviess County, too. Our goal in this campaign is to call local attention to this issue.”
The Little Black Dress Initiative was founded in 2014 by the Junior League of London during London Fashion week to support a campaign on poverty. Since its inception, Junior Leagues globally have replicated the initiative while supporting programs in their communities.
Maria Clark, Junior League of Owensboro’s vice president of marketing and communications said that the league is extremely excited about this initiative.
“It’s a new way for us to directly support those in need in our area, to work more closely with other non-profit organizations in Owensboro to effect positive changes, and to use our voices to address the social issues we face as a community,” Clark said.
Each participating member will wear a black dress or black ensemble for the five days of the initiative while providing information about domestic abuse through their social media and in person. Because this is the first year of Owensboro’s initiative, Clark said the league set the goal of $2,500, but they are almost halfway to their goal and the campaign has just begun, so members are expecting to surpass the goal.
Member Kaitlyn Moore said that through social media, she had noticed that several of her friends from North Carolina had participated in the initiative through their Junior Leagues and it sparked her interest.
“October is domestic violence awareness month so we were able to link LBDI [Little Black Dress Initiative] with domestic violence awareness month,” Moore said. “My hope is that LBDI will bring awareness to the needs of OASIS shelter, the services OASIS provides for our community and the prevalence of domestic violence in our community,” she said.
OASIS serves seven counties, which is nearly 15 percent of the state. A vast majority of the women served come from Daviess County, Clark said, and the shelter is always at or above capacity for their 60-bed shelter.
Junior League of Owensboro was founded in 1937 and the organization has been involved with promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
To donate to the campaign or learn more about the Junior League of Owensboro, visit their webpage.
