What an amazing month.
I don't know how much we raised for RAINN yet - I'm still waiting on the details and will definitely report them when I know. But in a way it feels like the money is a bit of a secondary thing to what happened. Which isn't to say that I don't care if we raised any money. Truth be told, I really wanted to figure out a way to raise the full million they needed. Why not aim big, right? Regardless, any amount we raised was a success as far as I'm concerned.
But what was more fascinating to me, and telling, was how people took to the event. I'll be honest: I didn't have a lot of hope that people would want to become involved with this, which is why I went and solicited nearly $5,000 in prizing. It didn't dawn on me until Kevin wrote about it that it might be deemed as distasteful to some. All I was thinking was, "Nobody's going to want to do this without something being in it for them, so I've got to find a way to talk them into it." For me, this event was all about making a difference. I just didn't know whether or not that would be enough to encourage people to do the same (other than Kevin, that is, who worked tirelessly to make this all happen. Seriously, he deserves a standing ovation at the very least.)
A small handful of people signed up in the very beginning. Some took to blogging every day, others blogged sporadically at first, but the longer it went on the more people opened up. Kevin and I had around three people signing up every day until we had over 60 bloggers involved, and people were still signing up all the way until the last day. And some of the revelations were staggering. I can't tell you how many times reading someone's entry brought me to tears, and how amazing I found it when one person's admission became inspiration for another to step forward. It was really incredible to see.
We live in a society that is more comfortable discussing the finer points of war than we are addressing victims of sexual abuse and assault. We live in a society that shames survivors more so than their attackers. Quite frankly, that's fucked up. The more we talk about this, the more that shame goes away. I'd like to think the blogathon has helped in that respect by opening lines of communication in a lot of different ways. I hope the participating bloggers will continue to do so. And I hope, if we do this again next year, that we'll encourage even more people to do the same.
I want to say a huge thank you to Kevin for making this all possible, Chelsea at RAINN for working with us to make this happen, and - of course - all of the participating bloggers. You're all incredibly courageous for taking this on, and many of you will be added to my links list. I feel honored to have read such an incredible outpouring from virtual strangers. I can't thank you enough. And, of course, those of you who donated. Every penny counts.
I'm hopping a plane again tomorrow, but I'll be updating from the road. (Oh, and a side note to the guys driving next to me on PCH yesterday.... I know you busted me grooving to Madonna as if the inside of my car was my own personal disco. Please don't post that picture you took of me on a blog. I have to maintain some kind of decorum.)
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