Each October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity for various organizations across the country to help raise awareness about what is an often overlooked crime. One in four women in this country suffer from some form of domestic violence. In addition to physical damage, many victims are often left feeling helpless, with nowhere to turn. It is a crime that affects all aspects of a person’s life. In part to help raise campus awareness about domestic violence, a local shelter recently reached out to a group of University students for help.

Earlier this month, students in an event planning class taught by Alumni Association director Montique Cotton Kelly presented their ideas for the shelter’s fifth anniversary event, an event the shelter hopes will strengthen its ties with both the University and surrounding community.

The Cocoon Shelter, located in Bowling Green, has been providing a safe haven for battered women and their children for the better part of four years. With the help of a strong network of volunteers, the Shelter provides safe emergency housing for victims and their children at no cost.

In addition to giving victims provisions of food, clothing and personal care items, the shelter also tries to empower its residents, many of whom arrive burdened by considerable psychological trauma.

‘Domestic violence involves a pattern of coercive and controlling behavior that unfolds over time,’ said Michelle Clossick, founding executive director for the shelter. ‘It does not begin with a single push or shove. It is the isolation, the threats, the stalking, the manipulation and the put-downs. A big part of what we do is to try and help deal with the psychological damage in our victims, which oftentimes is just as prevalent as the physical abuse.’

With their fifth anniversary approaching in June 2010, the shelter sought a way to plan an event that would spread their message as well as make prudent use of their limited resources.

With that in mind, Janet Parks, a member of the shelter’s board of directors and retired University professor, proposed the idea of asking the students in Kelly’s recreation and tourism class to come up with ideas for the event and bounce them off members of the shelter.

According to Parks, the idea to ask this particular class, stemmed from the wonderful treatment she received at an Alumni Association banquet in the spring of 2008.

‘I thought the event was just amazing,’ Parks said. ‘The association had every little detail planned out, right down to the colors on the table. I thought that if [Kelly] did such a good job at planning that event, then the students in her class would be the perfect ones to ask for some fresh ideas.’

Kelly was immediately on-board with Parks’ idea, and decided to turn it into a class project. She divided the students up into groups of four and had them coordinate the anniversary event as if their idea was the one that would ultimately be used, taking into consideration aspects such as budget, location, food and entertainment.

‘I was thrilled that my students were asked to participate in this,’ Kelly said. ‘Not only does it give them real experience relevant to their eventual careers; it also helps out a terrific non-profit cause. Overall, it was a win-win for both my class and the Cocoon Shelter.’

‘My group was a little intimidated by the project at first,’ said Brittany Mazur, a student in the class. ‘But seeing how emotional Ms. Clossick got when she was asking the class to do this, made all of us want to do a really good job. I’m glad we were able to contribute.’

The students were given about a month to prepare their projects, and on Oct. 1, they presented their ideas in front of Clossick and Doug Cubberly, who chairs the Shelter’s development committee.

Ideas ranged from a Masque Ball to a Walkathon to a golf outing. Both Clossick and Cubberly came away wowed well beyond their initial expectations.

‘The students demonstrated a remarkable capacity, energy, creativity and talent to come together and help solve community problems,’ Clossick said. ‘Their work far exceeded my expectations.’

‘Going in, I did not quite know what to expect,’ Cubberly said. ‘But I left very impressed with what I saw. I loved the maturity and professionalism of the presentations. The students left no stone unturned, you could really tell that they put a lot of time and thought into this.’

In the coming weeks, the Shelter board of directors will meet and sift through the projects to decide which ideas they like best. More than likely, according to Clossick, the Shelter will draw from the strengths of each presentation in coordinating the event rather than just settling on a single idea.

‘The students came up with such great ideas that we would never have thought of,’ Clossick said. ‘I am excited to pull from all the presentations and create a really strong event.’

Whichever ideas the Shelter ultimately settles on, they hope that the event will forge a lasting connection with the University in hopes that BGSU will remain a viable resource in the fight to raise awareness about the horrors of domestic violence.

‘I think that this project will definitely help raise awareness here on campus,’ Mazur said. ‘It seems like everybody tells their friends about what is going on in their classes, so if 30 people in our class tell their friends about this project then that is a great way right there to spread the word.’

‘Domestic violence touches every aspect of our lives and it requires addressing issues at every level,’ Clossick said. ‘If each person could commit to one simple thing, such as challenging jokes that degrade women or sitting and listening to a friend who is possibly experiencing abuse, then collectively, we can begin to make a big change.’