Vista College Puts on High-Heels and Gets Moving to Support Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence
Vista College hosts and participates in a campus walk, raising over $15,000 for local YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region’s Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center
El Paso, TX – December 14, 2018 – Vista College – El Paso Campus recently participated in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence by holding their own walk and fundraising event. The event raised over $15,000 for the YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region’s Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center, which provides housing for women, with or without children, experiencing homelessness.
Vista College students, faculty and staff members contributed to several creative and meaningful ways to support the event and raise funds and awareness. Those who did not participate in the actual walk held car washes, silent auctions, and departmental fundraisers, including selling t-shirts and even personally built items produced by students.
“To see so many people working together across our Vista community to raise awareness and funds for this important cause was inspirational,” said Tony Rico, campus director at Vista College. “It was an additional blessing to give the funds generated from the walk and the corresponding fundraisers to the YMCA’s Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center and serve our immediate area. These funds will support the efforts of the center and improve the lives of the families they serve.”
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® is based on the old saying, “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” The event quite literally asks men to walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. The walk is designed to be fun while raising awareness in the community about the serious causes and serious effects to sexualized violence against women.
“We are already planning to host the event next school year,” added Rico. “Our staff, faculty, and student body not only embraced the walk with enthusiasm but also demonstrated a sincere wish to educate and change lives in the El Paso community.”
Vista College offers numerous career training programs in Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas, as well as the flexibility of online programs. Each career program is staffed with industry leaders and professionals, ensuring students an affordable, quality education that will help them pursue successful careers in their chosen fields. Graduates benefit from Vista’s career services assistance, which includes resume preparation and interview coaching.
For more information on Vista College, go to www.vistacollege.edu.
About Vista College
Vista College is a network of private, post-secondary career colleges offering a variety of training programs including healthcare, business, cosmetology, legal, technology, and trades. Vista College has on-ground campus locations in Texas (Beaumont, College Station, El Paso, Killeen, Longview, and Lubbock), Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Computer Career Center, a division of Vista College, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. These campuses are accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education, 7840 Roswell Road, Building 300, Suite 325, Atlanta, GA 30350. Call (770) 396-3839. Vista College also has a separate online campus accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). Consumer information may be viewed at www.vistacollege.edu
About Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®
Frank Baird created Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® in 2001. What started out as a small group of men daring to totter around a park has grown to become a worldwide movement with tens of thousands of men raising millions of dollars for local rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, and other sexualized violence education, prevention, and remediation programs. In 2007, Frank formed Venture Humanity, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. Venture Humanity, Inc. develops peace, violence prevention, and community projects. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® is a Venture Humanity, Inc. project. For more information go to www.walkamileinhershoes.org
About The Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center – YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region
The Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center provides housing for women, with or without children, experiencing homelessness. The face of homelessness is changing, with women and children becoming the fastest growing portion of the homeless population. YWCA El Paso del Norte Region’s Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center provides a bridge to successful independence for women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A large percentage of TLC residents are survivors of domestic, sexual, or other forms of violence. YWCA provides all TLC residents support through intensive case management, counseling, financial empowerment services, job search assistance, and educational opportunities to assist them in achieving self-sufficiency. For more information on the Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center and the YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region, go to www.ywcaelpaso.org