Greenville Women Giving, a philanthropic women’s organization, has awarded $49,700 to Safe Harbor for the organization’s ManUPstate initiative. ManUPstate (www.manupstate.org) was launched in October, 2014 to engage men in efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls. ManUPstate seeks to give men a mindset and vocabulary to take responsibility for ending violence against women and to model healthy attitudes about what it means to ‘be a man’. While ManUPstate is led by Safe Harbor, it is a collaborative movement with eleven partnering nonprofit organizations and men from throughout the Upstate who have joined the leadership team. Partnering organizations include Compass of Carolina, Greenville First Steps, The Phoenix Center, Pendleton Place for Children and Families and the Julie Valentine Center, among others.
“Statistics show only 15% of men are abusive,” shares Julie Meredith, Director of Outreach and Communication at Safe Harbor. “ManUPstate’s goal is to reach the 85% of good men in Greenville. For decades, women have led efforts to end domestic violence, rape, trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence. And yet, violence against women and girls continues to be an epidemic. That’s why we are calling on the 85% of good men in Greenville to create a new definition for what it means to ‘man-up’, modeling and teaching respect and working to create a culture in which all people are valued and safe.”
Greenville Women Giving will provide the majority of funding needed for ManUPstate to accomplish its goals over the next year and a half. Throughout 2015-2016, ManUPstate will broaden its impact within Greenville County, creating an outreach campaign to target Greenville men, developing a ManUPstate ambassadors’ bureau, and executing three ManUPstate events to provide training and education for coaches, faith leaders and fathers. By reaching men who have influence over our youth, ManUPstate will work to create change that will ultimately lead to the prevention of violence against women and girls in Greenville and throughout the Upstate.
“We are so grateful to Greenville Women Giving for investing in the ManUPstate initiative,” said Becky Callaham, Safe Harbor’s Executive Director. “With this generous gift, we will be able to begin continue the important dialogue with men about their role in ending violence against women and girls in the Upstate. The competition for these grants is fierce, so we are honored Greenville Women Giving saw the importance and relevance of this project, as well as the enormous impact it can have on our community. This project has the capacity to be a game changer in the Upstate, and we are excited Greenville Women Giving is now a partner with us.”
To learn more, visit www.manupstate.org.
