Office Manager 8/27/20 Office Manager 8/27/20

Virtual #HopeandHealingGala2020 Speaker Highlight: Carol Matthews-Shifflett

We are excited to spotlight another fantastic speaker that will be featured at the #hopeandhealinggala2020. Meet, Carol Jean Matthews-Shifflett, Owner and CEO of The Sojourner Group!

We are excited to spotlight another fantastic speaker that will be featured at the #hopeandhealinggala2020. Meet, Carol Jean Matthews-Shifflett, Owner and CEO of The Sojourner Group! Carol holds a Master of Arts in Community Leadership and a BA in Anthropology, with a focus on culture. Her career is focused on the well-being of women and children. She is committed to ensuring that survivors who identify as Black, are
defined as Black, and those who identify with the historical context of the African American
experience find healthy spaces to convey their underlying trauma.

We hope you will tune in on September 18th to hear from Carol Matthews-Shifflett and learn about the partnership between The Sojourner Group and the RRC at our virtual Hope and Healing Gala! To register to attend, host your own Gala, or sponsor the event, check out our website for links and information on holding your own viewing party.

Office Manager 8/1/19 Office Manager 8/1/19

Volunteer Spotlight: Montana Throne

Since her arrival as a volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center, Montana has been an important part of our small team of administrative volunteers. Helping us out with her IT experience, her wit, and overall willingness to help out in various tasks, it’s our delight to share a bit more about Montana!

Quote from Montana Throne, administrative volunteer.

The Rape Recovery Center volunteer team consists of nearly 150 incredible individuals who give their time, talents, and passion to furthering our mission of serving survivors and educating the community about sexual violence. This month, we are so pleased to spotlight our wonderful Admin volunteer, Montana Throne!

What motivated you to become a volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center?

I sought healing through helping others at a time when I felt justice was not being served. I am afraid that is all too often the case with survivors of assault. By volunteering, I want to enable others to have the voice I was denied.

What have you enjoyed most about your time as an RRC volunteer?

I like knowing that I can support people who give selflessly of their time and energy to survivors of a deeply personal and traumatic experience. They have an important role, and it’s reassuring to me that we have the opportunity to support them so they can continue to give to others.

What is most challenging about your volunteer work at the RRC?

The greatest challenge so far has been to stake out time on top of an already-busy life to do this work, but I have made a point to do it because I recognize its important not only to those I am serving, but also to myself.

Tell us a little more about how you spend your time outside of volunteering for the RRC - hobbies, passions, work, school?

I am also an IT professional outside of the RRC, and when I’m not at work or school I enjoy films, spending time with friends, or just relaxing at home with my partner and our two cats.

You have immersed yourself in the very difficult work of addressing sexual violence. What gives you hope as you approach this work?

It gives me hope that the general attitude towards these types of assault is changing, and that it is inspiring reform to the way we respond to them at all levels.

What is your message to others looking to get involved in this work, or considering volunteer work at the RRC?

It is incredibly fulfilling to volunteer. There are many ways to be involved, and you don’t need to commit your whole life in order to give. Even a couple hours of your time can make a difference to someone who needs it.

Office Manager 7/18/19 Office Manager 7/18/19

Volunteer Spotlight: Jenna Matsumura

Taking a active part in helping survivors, Jenna provides support as a volunteer on our crisis line, going through our 40 hour training has provided her with the necessary tools to answer some of the tough questions and calls that come through. Volunteers like Jenna who see the impact of sexual violence in her community and get involved and continue to do so as they move through different chapters of their lives show us that anyone can volunteer!

What motivated you to become a volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center?

I became a volunteer with the RRC when I was a senior at the University of Utah, right around the time that the Office of Civil Rights' "Dear Colleague" letter was being enacted on campus. Working with the Center for Student Wellness to acclimate their first Victim-Survivor Advocate made me realize how prevalent the problems of sexual and domestic violence were, and continue to be, among college students. At the time there was no way to volunteer with students, so I chose to lend my time to the RRC and support not only my peers but my community as well.

What have you enjoyed most about your time as an RRC volunteer?

Selfishly, one of the things I enjoy most about being a volunteer is the knowledge that I am DOING SOMETHING about an issue that has a profound impact on my community, instead of just talking about it. Working shifts at the RRC can be difficult, but I always am buoyed by the knowledge that I'm not helpless in this fight and that I have something to contribute. That understanding helps me when times get tough. Also, the staff members are amazing and I am constantly in awe of them. I LOVE YOU.

What is most challenging about your volunteer work at the RRC?

The most challenging part for me about working the crisis line is that I want to help so badly, that I have to check my savior complex. I think many people come into the work of violence prevention with underlying if not overt savior complexes and it's hard and long work to undo that thinking and to be actively preventing against it. As a volunteer, it's my job to support the callers, not save them because they are already capable and empowered- they just need some resources and unconditional support.

Tell us a little more about how you spend your time outside of volunteering for the RRC - hobbies, passions, work, school?

When I'm not volunteering with the RRC I enjoy introverted activities like quilting, reading, and embroidery. I have two cats who I am always in a rush to get home to, Cleo and Tang. I currently work at the University of Utah and do marketing for incoming and prospective students, but have traditionally worked with marginalized genders and gender equality. My summer reading recs are: Circe by Madaline Miller, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.

You have immersed yourself in the very difficult work of addressing sexual violence. What gives you hope as you approach this work?

I take so much hope from organizations like the RRC and Rise (get it, Amanda Nyguen) who work on a community and policy level to tackle the systemic nature of patriarchal violence. I am also inspired and brought to tears by the passion and knowledge of younger people. They are light years ahead of where I was at that age in regards to knowledge, self-acceptance, advocacy, and understanding their power.

What is your message to others looking to get involved in this work, or considering volunteer work at the RRC?

I often hear from folk that they're afraid they don't have the necessary skills to be a crisis line volunteer or hospital responder. To them, I say, "Great! The RRC will give you the skills." When I started volunteering, I was 21 years old and didn't have many skills in the way of crisis-response. What I did have was a passion to see violence eradicated. That and an open mind to exploring your privilege and identities are all you need to volunteer with the RRC. Join us!

Office Manager 6/20/19 Office Manager 6/20/19

Volunteer Spotlight: Brennan Jones

Brennan has shared with the RRC his many talents in various capacities. Beginning his journey at the Rape Recovery Center as an intern, Brennan continues to support the center through volunteering with our flower donation delivery and being on the planning committee for this year’s Hope & Healing Gala. Always available to lend a ear and being a friend to someone in need, please read below to learn more about this incredible volunteer!

What motivated you to become a volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center?

I actually started out as an undergraduate intern through the Gender Studies department at the U of U. Back then I wanted to be a therapist, so naturally I thought I’d dive head-first into the gnarliest trauma recovery I could find! Needless to say, after a while on the crisis line and doing some client intakes, it became clear that my talents are more suited to flower deliveries and event planning—my current work at the center.

What have you enjoyed most about your time as an RRC volunteer?

Truly, the staff and volunteers at the Center are some of the kindest, sweetest, wisest, hardest working souls in the world. Their balance of sensitivity, personality, and professionalism is a potent salve for the soul that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. And besides, most of them are genuinely cool people!

What is most challenging about your volunteer work at the RRC?

Serving on the gala planning committee this past year, I was blessed to learn a whole slew of skills I had never encountered before professionally. Chiefly, I had many opportunities to hold delicate conversations with members of the community outside of the Center. While sexual assault is something that affects most of us in one way or another, it can be challenging to break that shell of silence in "polite" company.

Tell us a little more about how you spend your time outside of volunteering for the RRC - hobbies, passions, work, school?

When I'm not volunteering, I'm usually out hiking with my dog Honey, getting dirty in the garden, homemaking, catching up on my programs, or planning my next Dungeons and Dragons campaign! I graduated some years ago from the University of Utah with BS in Sociology and Gender Studies, so naturally I wait tables downtown at the Copper Onion for money.

You have immersed yourself in the very difficult work of addressing sexual violence. What gives you hope as you approach this work?

Honestly, knowing that the work I do can end some *small* portion of somebody's suffering as they endure and recover from sexual assault is what continues to motivate me. Besides, I feel like it's important for me to be involved in this work as a male-bodied human to help undo the trauma that is overwhelmingly caused by men--even if the only real difference is symbolic.

What is your message to others looking to get involved in this work, or considering volunteer work at the RRC?

Do it, do it, do it! Aside from all of the amazing people (and in some cases, lifelong friends) you'll meet and work with, the personal growth you’ll experience is life-changing. Each person that learns and serves at the center becomes a tendril of hope and healing in their own communities, opening up important conversations and challenging rape culture at ground level.