Hello PPMA colleagues and friends.

In this blog post, Karen Grave our VP writes about the national Blooming Strong campaign which celebrates the strength of women who have survived gender based violence, or supported someone who has.

“You might have seen my article about PPMA support for the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse in our recent MJ Quarterly Supplement.  If not, please make sure you look out for information about this important initiative. I attend the employers networking group on behalf of PPMA and am going to be at the National Domestic Abuse conference at the end of November.

PPMA has met a number of important organisations working to both help domestic abuse victims, but also raise awareness of this terrible issue. One of the organisations that I have recently met is Standing Together  which is a London Triborough partnership. Standing Together are promoting a national Blooming Strong Campaign which is an initiative to celebrate the strength of women. Women, of course, are not the only victims of domestic abuse, but it is true to say that women experience domestic violence much more than men.

The Blooming Strong Coffee Morning is intended to be a social gathering to celebrate women, whilst raising funds and/or awareness for a selected local women’s service.  To give you an idea of what this might look like Standing Together have identified 3 main components to their activity:

  1. Distribution of flowers on the street in the Tri-Borough on November 28th
  2. Blooming Strong Awards for survivors and those working to end Violence Against Women Groups (VAWG) – each one nominated receives a flower and letter
  3. Blooming Strong Coffee Morning fundraisers / awareness raisers

Local events can be held anytime during the 16 days of activism, from the United Nations day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25th, until December 10th. Please feel free to mix and match elements of the campaign that best suit your requirements to create your event in your locality.

The Standing Together team has shared with us a number of documents that will help you decide how you want to run this event.  You can find some  background information in the Blooming_Strong_Pack and specific information about the BStrong_Coffee_Morning. There’s also a template poster  a  Nomination Form and  a Nominee Letter.

If you need any additional information, please feel free to contact Jenny Bowes t: 020 8748 5717 – please let her know that you have heard about this through PPMA.

I would be very grateful if you could share and participate.  There are many many issues on our already busy to do lists I know, but our professional involvement in broader issues that will help change our workplaces and broader society for the better is critical. Please be in no doubt as to how much our support and involvement in promoting issues such as this is appreciated by the organisations involved.”

Best wishes