Mick & Colette Foley
with Tori Amos

Mick stopped by RAINN's office for lunch just before Christmas and announced that he and his wife Colette plan to donate to RAINN 50% of the advance royalties from his upcoming memoir, “Countdown to Lockdown.” (The book includes a chapter about the origins of Mick’s friendship with Tori Amos, RAINN’s original spokesperson.) Mick has also begun training to become an Online Hotline volunteer, where he'll be able to help survivors one-by-one, and has lent his fame to the cause by doing media interviews to help us raise awareness and prevent rape.

Read more about Mick and his involvement with RAINN

An estimated 12 percent of youth in state-operated and large locally or privately-operated juvenile facilities reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or facility staff.

The Justice Department’s newly released Stalking Victimization Report found that, during a 12 month period, an estimated 3.4 million persons age 18 or older were victims of stalking. Moreover, the report showed that stalking is not isolated from other crimes such as violence, dating violence, and sexual assault, which also happen as part of a continuum in many victims’ lives.

Nearly 75 percent of victims knew their offender in some capacity. Stalking victims most often identified the stalker as a former intimate partner (22 percent) or a friend, roommate, or neighbor (16 percent).

Find out more about stalking and cyberstalking, including tips on how to protect yourself

“It’s now time to tell. And it’s okay.” That was actress Mo’Nique’s message when she accepted a Golden Globe Award. According to ABC News, Mo'Nique has said she was able to use her own childhood experience to prepare for her role as an abusive mother in the film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire."

"It's incredibly powerful when celebrities come forward and share their stories on survival," Katherine Hull, vice president for communications at RAINN, told ABCNews.com. "It tells other people they are not alone. And seeing someone who has experienced this crime, and has survived it and is thriving today, shows survivors and victims that recovery is possible.”

“I continue to work in the United States Senate to ensure that our nation’s laws safeguard Utahns, as well as all Americans, and ensure that the needs of victims and the interests of justice are served. I am committed to being a voice for citizens who fall prey to sexual assaults, and I will continue to advocate for laws that bring sex offenders to justice and strengthen law enforcement tools and resources, such as RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotlines.”

~ Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

“RAINN has long been at the forefront of national efforts to prevent sexual assault and has helped millions of victims, families, friends, and community members — all touched by violent crime. As a former prosecutor, I am proud to support the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization and stand committed to joining RAINN in its efforts to improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.”

~ Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

RAINN would like to thank you once again for your generous support in 2009. If you made a donation in December, you know that one of RAINN’s most generous supporters has already doubled your gift. Now is your chance to turn your $100 = $300. You can search our database to see if your employer will match your donation. If it will, all you have to do is send a form to RAINN and we’ll do the rest. Search our employer list today.

“I volunteer for RAINN, as a way to give back to the community in a vitally important way. With each call, I’m constantly amazed by the courage of the survivor to get help, as well as the negligence, isolation, and societal norms which cause survivors to reach out for help behind the anonymity of an online crisis hotline—all too often because they are scared or feel unable to find help face to face within their own community. Volunteering for RAINN has taught me a lot about compassion and helped me to become a more aware and knowledgeable member of society!”

Marnie Goodfriend, a RAINN Speakers Bureau member, bravely tells the story of her violent attack — a home invasion turned rape and robbery — and her journey to overcome it, in a new web clip featured on RAINN’s YouTube channel. Marnie courageously sought help through RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE), and now helps RAINN bring hope to others.

YouTube allows RAINN supporters and survivors to learn more about our work and how we directly support those in need. You can view Marnie’s story, as well as other videos featuring celebrities like Christina Ricci, on RAINN’s YouTube Channel. You can connect with RAINN by subscribing to RAINN01 or adding us as a friend!

Students at Wesleyan University and other schools nationwide are gearing up to help RAINN through their participation in V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Through V-Day campaigns, usually occurring between February and April, local volunteers and college students, including many of RAINN’s supporters, produce benefit performances to raise funds to help victims and combat violence.

Learn more about supporting this global cause