To help raise awareness and funds for victims of abuse, Penn State Brandywine is asking its students, faculty, staff, alumni, family and friends to join the campus in a Brandywine Blue Out on Friday, Sept. 21, one day before the Blue Out at Beaver Stadium.
The idea is to turn the campus into a sea of blue, the official color of child abuse prevention, to show solidarity with the University and support for victims.
Proceeds from the official Blue Out t-shirts currently being sold in the Brandywine Bookstore benefit the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), and donations collected on September 21 will be given to PCAR's area affiliate, Delaware County Women Against Rape (WAR).
Everyone who wishes to participate in the Penn State Brandywine Blue Out is encouraged to post a photo of themselves wearing blue to Twitter using the hashtag #BrandywineBlueOut, post it to the Penn State Brandywine Facebook wall (http://www.facebook.com/PennStateBrandywine) on the twenty-first or email it to [email protected].
The student group Penn State M.A.D.E. will set up a donation collection table during common hour and Women Against Rape will provide resources and information for victims and their families.
Candice Linehan, director of Sexual Assault Services at Delaware County Women Against Rape, said the nonprofit organization offers education programs, counseling services, survivor groups and legal advocacy for victims and their families. The organization, which also offers free legal services for civil cases, is located in Media and sees more than 2,000 clients each year, she said.
The initiative, which began at University Park, has adopted the motto "One Team. One School. One Heart. One Promise." It encourages the Penn State family to come together to make things right and asks that in addition to wearing blue either at the Brandywine campus on September 21 or at the football game at Beaver Stadium on September 22, each individual from throughout the Commonwealth make and share one personal promise that affirms his or her commitment to altruism. Compliment a person on the street, call a long lost friend or stand up to someone being bullied, the movement encourages. Promises can be tweeted using the hasthtag #OnePromise.
