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GOAL IN
SIGHT:
Campaign
to fund
rape kit
tests
hopes to
wrap up
this
month
AA490
Challenge
to host
Jeans
for
Justice,
other
events
for
Sexual
Assault
Awareness
Month
DETROIT
- An
ambitious
fundraising
campaign
that
brought
together
tens of
thousands
of women
in metro
Detroit
to fund
rape
investigations
is near
a
successful
conclusion.
Organizers
of the
African
American
490
Challenge
of
Enough
SAID, a
campaign
to raise
$657,090
for rape
kit
processing,
say they
hope a
Jeans
for
Justice
show
April 26
will be
its
final
event.
The
group
has
raised
$450,000
so far
in
support
of
efforts
started
by Wayne
County
Prosecutor
Kym
Worthy,
the
Detroit
Crime
Commission
and the
Michigan
Women’s
Foundation
to
address
a
backlog
of
11,341
untested
rape
evidence
kits
discovered
in 2009.
“This
has
truly
been a
grassroots
effort
that’s
brought
together
organizations
and
individuals
from all
walks of
life,
from
sororities
to
businesses
to
churches
to
teens,”
said Kim
Trent,
president
of the
AA490
challenge,
whose
name
indicates
the cost
-- $490
-- of
testing
one rape
kit. “We
hope we
can meet
our goal
by
building
on our
success
during
April,
which is
Sexual
Assault
Awareness
Month.”
The
first
event
takes
place
tonight
at 8
p.m.,
when
Trent
honors
late
great
music
legend
Prince
with a
Purple
Karaoke
for the
Kits at
The
Loft,
1420
Washington
Boulevard.
Then,
for
Denim
Day on
April
26,
companies
and
organizations
will
allow
employees
to pay a
nominal
fee in
order to
wear
jeans to
work,
with the
fees
going to
the
fund-raising
campaign.
The City
of
Detroit,
UAW
Solidarity
House
and
Fifth
Third
Bank are
among
those
taking
part in
Denim
Day.
Also on
April 26
is Jeans
for
Justice,
a
fashion
show
featuring
denim
attire
that
starts
at 7
p.m. at
the
Motor
City
Casino.
www.eventbrite.com/e/denim-day-detroit-jeans-and-justice-fashion-show-tickets-33242490183.
The
casino,
AARP and
the
Wellness
Plan are
co-sponsors.
Denim
Day is a
global
movement
to end
victim-blaming
and
misconceptions
about
sexual
assault.
It takes
place
the last
Wednesday
in
April,
sparked
by an
Italian
Supreme
Court
ruling
that
overturned
a rape
conviction
because
they
felt a
teenage
victim
must
have
helped
her
rapist
remove
her
tight
jeans,
thereby
implying
consent.
For more
information
or to
donate,
go to
www.aa490challenge.org.
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