Life is… Simple!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy! You see I thought organizing a concert would be easy… Simple… Pffft! I was of the belief it was just weddings that were crazy, but this is a whole new level! The biggest wedding I had to arrange involved 70 guests and though time consuming it became kind of fun.

This however is becoming a whole different animal! I spoke to one of my funders and we talked about venues two weeks ago and how I had the choice of three places… The Hammerstein, Below 54 club, which is just off Broadway or a yacht. I explained of how the Below 54 Club seated 150 people, of what a wonderful cozy place it is but I was cut down_ immediately with a “Good grief girl, I can fill a church with a 150 people on a Sunday!” Hmmm Okaaay…

Hammerstein Ballroom

The Hammerstein holds 1,600 and the yacht 1,200 people, simple huh? In the real world it’s like organizing a wedding with1,600-1,200 guests… See? Simple! He wants me to book the Hammerstein and so the yacht it is! On an evening in June with the full moon glinting over the East River from Near South Sea Street Port;-D

One of the decks on the yacht

Oh and then there’s the guest line up. I have worked in some Rock, a little Hip Hop, some comedy and lastly a couple of guest speakers. Of course all well known to everyone. I’m also working with a charity and I have an organization to make donations to from the ticket sales. Then we are also working on a Pay per View version of it online for $5.99 so there’s a production crew for it and of course merchandise of T-shirts with a coupon for a Kindle down load of A Broken Ring, hats, CD‘s, posters… As I was saying… Simple! Oh yes I forgot there’s the PR company for radio and newspapers… So yes as I was saying… Simple!

If you think it’s just me going a little crazy here I’m not alone! See I told Hubby he has a 3 song set too! Hahaha! You  should’ve seen his face! From playing at the local open mic night to let’s say 20-30 people to playing in front of 1,200. Guess who’s panicking now! We just have to get him into a studio to polish him up with a producer…

Oh and by the way, we have to move again. The road floods weekly, ants absolutely love sharing this place with us, it’s drafty cold, the landlord won’t replace the washer/dryer, the fuse box hasn’t been replaced since Sandy so we keep thinking the place could go “Pooft!” up in an electrical fireball and smoke any day because it’s so corroded from the salt water flooding from the tidal surge.

Our flooded road after a normal high tide

You can imagine my surprise then when on finally letting my head hit the pillow on Tuesday night at 1am to wake up at 2am from a nightmare. It included ghost like zombies, they were pretty in fact almost ethereal but nonetheless zombies and they didn’t bite you to turn you into one… No! These evil crazy things just had to touch you! I woke up at the point where one was a cat with white eyes staring at me! I woke up and freaked because my bad, black puddy cat was standing staring at me in the dark! Seriously?! I told myself to calm down think of happy things and go back to sleep. I did but I ended up back in the same bloody dream again! This happened all night, needless to say I was exhausted on Wednesday and dragged myself around all day thinking about how I had “Stuff” to do still. Today I woke up more refreshed and did no work, no writing until now with this post and a little catch up on Facebook. I think the nightmares were a way of telling me to slow down a little… Simple. Yes I do like that word a lot lately. It seems to help keep everything on track and … Well… Simple!

I sometimes tell myself I must be crazy but the support I’m getting is amazing and uplifting and at the end of the day it really is all about spreading the word about violence and abuse, assault and rape. Letting people know they are not alone, that it effects everyone, black, white, straight, gay, women, men and children. Violence doesn’t discriminate but we can heal. We can transform and  become amazing!

In fact I’ve already started creating some cool things in my CafePress shop! Please check them out and let me know what you think. Just click on the picture below. Thank you for all your support and I hope your having an amazing week!

Transformation from Abuse

The reveal! Transformation from Abuse

I just wanted to share with you the new logo for the concert and show I am putting together.

It wouldn’t be so amazing if I hadn’t had the wonderful help from an amazing artist, Susan Cooper of Finding Our Way Now. Her artwork is one of a kind and will be applauding her everywhere I go and raising a glass of vino to her! Susan… Salute!!!

I chose a scarab beetle because it represents transformations (i.e. Healing from Abuse) and the Egyptians believed it was the ‘Protector of the written word’ and purple is the color of the Domestic Violence Ribbon.

It’s going to be on T-Shirts, caps and banners etc!!

So here it is… The big reveal! Ta-Dah!

I hope you love it too!!!

Related articles

• Transformation from Abuse.. My new online show! (clairecappetta.wordpress.com)
• Author Interview with Susan Cooper and D.R.E.A.M. Catchers (clairecappetta.wordpress.com)

Transformation from Abuse.. My new online show!

Yes! You read it right! I’m going to be a talk show host on an online show!… Okay now that you have finished laughing, you can pick yourself up off the floor… Thank you!

You see… I was offered several different opportunities one being a book tour but when I thought about it_ most of my book sales have been Kindle sales. I’m still waiting for Nook to approve it and I’m having difficulties with Kobo but I’ll sort it out when I can. Kindle though has been wonderful, in fact I love it! You pay and BAM!! The book is there! How cool is that?

I sat down down and thought how crazy a book tour would be when just about everything I do is online! Therefore an opportunity online would seem to be the most fun way to go and VIOLA! It slam dunked it’s way right into my lap. Now those of you who have followed me know that I like to involve as many people as I can into a good thing… Spread the happiness, so to speak!

So here we go!

Transformation from Abuse – The new online show!

I am going to be hosting an online show called Transformation from Abuse. It will be aired worldwide as the internet is… Well.. Worldwide! Haha! Oh boy, can you tell I’m tired!

It will air twice weekly from NYC and will have a Twitter feed so the at home audience can ask questions in ‘real time’. There will be a set with a sofa, myself and a fully trained psychologist. Each episode we will have a different guest from celebrities, politicians, victims, survivors, doctors, advocacy groups… to be honest the list is endless!

We are then going to take it on the road! State to State, Coast to Coast! (This is where Claire fulfills one of her bucket list items… a t-shirt from every State! hee-hee). We will be meeting and introducing people from all around the country who is involved in abuse issues.

I hear you “Not my bag!” Your saying well not the case as there will be humor mixed in as well as some amazing healing techniques incorporating mind and body!!

To launch this wonderful show we are going to have an awesome concert! Yes! Here in NYC! Very R&B, very soulful!

On this night we are going to sell t-shirts with the logo on it, not only that but each t-shirt comes with a coupon of a free download of A Broken Ring!!!

Susan Cooper

Now one of the coolest things to all of this is the logo… Which I’m not releasing yet but you know it’s going to be awesome when I tell you Susan Cooper of Finding Our Way Now has been involved! Oh yeah baby! I have an original Susan Cooper graphic!!  Awesome!! Oh? You want a clue? It’s purple!! And no it’s not a ribbon! Fooled you!

Actually, on a serious note… It is fast becoming an amazing adventure more than I could have hoped for. It is becoming much more than the book… It is now becoming a whole new animal… One of healing, one of getting the word out there about abuse, one of letting people know they are not alone, giving a voice to people who are normally too scared to speak out as they can remain anonymous with an ‘Escape Button” on the site. A way of bringing communities and people together. I want people to come away from watching the show feeling empowered, inspired and totally uplifted! It will be about us, about ‘We the people!’ together, making a difference in this world as best we can!

Here is the video I have put together, as I updated my Indiegogo Campaign to incorporate the show as every little bit helps!

Now before you watch it think about this! There is a slide who someone put together for me and I have done so much reading and writing lately that I became word blind and missed a couple of grammatical mistakes. Thankfully, Sharla Shults found them for me but before I correct it I thought it might be fun to hold a little competition! First one to comment and say where they are will win a free Kindle Copy of A Broken Ring! Ta-Dah!!

So with out further ado here it is! And please every dollar, penny, pound… gold sovereign will help the show if you could take a minute to visit my Indiegogo Campaign here. I thank you most humbly!

A Broken Ring and Stalking Liberty ~ Here we go!

 Hurricane Sandy really messed it up for me last time so here I am having another ‘bash’ at Indiegogo! Even though my handheld video camera died and my webcam bites! lol I ran one before but was hit by Hurricane Sandy and it was difficult to run it with no power. So here we go! This below is my plea for help in crowdfunding

“I’m a great believer in helping people and empowering them in understanding. 1 in 3 women are either beaten or raped a year across the world. That’s 1 BILLION and that’s 1 BILLION too many! 1in 5 men are beaten and raped too!

Think about it for a minute when you see people in the stores or down your road. It’s happening near you. It could have already happened to you, a friend… a work colleague…

I wrote A Broken Ring as a healing tool which has gone on to be published late last September and by October the word about it was spreading but then we were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy which halted everything.

A little difficult to storm ahead with no power after a flood! But I’m back up and running. I need people like you to help me, to come on this journey of love and inspiration with me!

Advocacy groups who have read A Broken Ring have used the word “Inspiring” too me but my main goal is to let people know they are NOT alone. That we are there to say ‘We understand!”

 My sequel in the Ride to Liberty is also finished, Stalking Liberty. Each book ends with a wonderfully empowering message.

 A teaser… Click here for the first chapter of A Broken Ring!

Lets stand up together

Shout out

We are not alone!

We shine bright!

 What We Need & What You Get

Breaking it down:

• A Broken Ring is getting rave reviews but I need to hire a publict to spread the word which will cost me $4,000 to get started and the final draft of Stalking Liberty needs a professional editor which costs $1,000
• There are some really cool perks too!
• Signed copies of A Broken Ring.
• Skype call.
• Being listed in the Contributors page.
• A character named after you in the last installment of the trilogy… don’t worry the character will be a ‘Goodie’ not a “Baddie”!
• If the goal amount is not reached I will beg, steal and borrow until it’s reached because it’s just too important to help people!

The Impact

• Together we can raise awareness for both women and men who need help.
• We can help people who feel alone and isolated, knowing there are others out there who experienced similar circumstances and found freedom through healing and self renewal and empowerment.
• It is already in the libraries of Healing groups and Domestic Violence Shelters for example: Hope Healing House in Grove City, Ohio and the New York Suffolk County Coalition of Domestic Violence.
• There are whispers in the ether of a 40 city book tour on college campuses in April to raise awareness amongst the youth and a made for television movie from A Broken Ring!

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

I understand times are tight financially for some people but it would really help if you could spread the word and share it with friends and family.

Please share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+… Pigeonagram!

And that’s all there is to it. Thank you for taking this journey with me!”

A Broken Ring and Stalking Liberty’s Indiegogo Campaign

Related articles

• Wichita Women’s Shelter Sees Rise In Domestic Violence Victims (kake.com)
• Anti-stalking advocates seek tougher laws in Wyoming (billingsgazette.com)
• National Stalking Awareness Month 2013 (nichellemitchem.typepad.com)
• The Violence Against Women Act: Get It Done Congress (theobamacrat.com)

DCI Banks and Lydia Castle ~ It’s a small world!

The Black Bull, Otley, West Yorkshire

Last night I settled down to escape into some television drama after a day of writing, cooking, cleaning… and listening to a 17 year old deranging about how cruel the world is because she has the 2 day flu bug. As I wrote through the afternoon my mind had drifted back to a discussion online, which I was commenting on,. After all I had started it in LinkedIn when I posted the link to my post of last week: Could you you forgive and forget?. It has stirred some memories of old places and people. Some of the comments touched on how we react when we meet people or places that brought back memories of abuse. It dragged back a lot for me! Memories long put away in storage and I considered myself thankful by the end of the afternoon that being 3,000 miles away I was no longer reminded of the back alleyways or ‘Ginnels‘ as we called them. I didn’t see the marketplace or the old clock-tower, presiding over the people and the stone buildings. When dinner had been eaten and the dishes washed and put away, the 17 year old finally sleeping her flu away quietly and the smell of fresh coffee wafted through our home, we finally snuggled down on the sofa. We were warm and cozy with candles lit giving a warming glow against the snow outside.

DCI Banks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The television slowly came to life, searching the DVR menu we found DCI Banks and my husband clicked ‘Start”. I had been looking forward to watching this series which had recently started on PBS Channel, for us on Long Island it’s WLIW21. This is where we click to watch excellent Downton Abbey Eastenders, Doc Martin… Some of the wonderful shows which make their way across ‘The Pond” to us here in New York.

I had decided over the last couple of weeks that I liked DCI Banks… yes it was set in Yorkshire, but never too ‘close to home’.

Clock tower Otley

Until last night! The starting sequence, not a problem for me as the characters were set way up on the moors. No it was a couple of minutes in… A clock tower in an old market place suddenly flashed on to the screen and my breath was caught, stuck in my throat. I coughed! The clock tower, the market place, cobble-stoned paths with old stone buildings! My past glared back at me! A rising panic, my stomach lurching, heart racing!

Seriously?! This is what I told my self as I squeaked out the word “Otley!” My husband looked at me as he replied “Yeah? Baby? Home?’ Forgetting for a second that everywhere in England is ‘home’ except Otley. Otley never felt like home even when I lived there. In A Broken Ring,  Lydia Castle’s home town is Hoakley, but then I guess you saw that resemblance!

Now don’t get me wrong, it is a delightfully quaint old market town… just not for me. It reminded me of fighting for my life, running to a Police car parked by the clock… banging on the window hysterical asking for them to help me as my stalker advanced in the darkness, of fighting for my life in the dark alleyways which now seemed to be fully lit and not in total darkness as they were when I was a teenager.

Otley

 

As I watched the show, it followed the story of a girl who had been raped and murdered in a dark back alleyway… Freaking seriously!?! It couldn’t have been a different story line? I told myself it was drama, I told myself not to panic, I told myself that what I was experiencing was THE PAST! Watch it I told myself, treat it like another healing curve but I will admit that even after all these years, faces of people who had abused me still loomed in my mind probably because some of them are still real and still want to connect with me through letters and Christmas cards, which of course immediately get tossed into the garbage.

All in all I think I had four baby panic attacks as I watched. I was determined to see it through to the end of the show. Why? Because I’m now bigger than this, better than this! This will empower me even more. I am my own light and no-one can dim it any more! I can shout out now against abuse and violence, no longer the timid Yorkshire mouse squeaking for help.

Now let me ask you a question…

Did you see DCI Banks “Friend of the Devil“?

Did you read A Broken Ring?

Did you see a connection?

Did you hear Lydia’s accent come to life?

Could you envisage the smell of a cold Yorkshire day?

The sweet taste of escape for Lydia?

Related articles

• ‘DCI Banks’ TV Series: PBS’s Newest British Detective (theepochtimes.com)
• BBC Worldwide Inks Syndication Deal With Public Television Stations for British Crime Drama ‘DCI Banks’ (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• BBC Crime Series, DCI Banks, Premieres on WPBT2 (channel2.typepad.com)

National Stalking Awarenes Month 2013 is here

January is Stalking Awareness Month 2013

Each month is dedicated to some cause now. For me October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, April is dedicated to National Assault Awareness Month, but this month it is National Stalking Awareness Month which impacts 1 in 6 women and 1-in 19 men.

That’s a lot of people here in the US!

Think about how many people you know friends, family, in the work place. At some point of them, maybe even you have been or will be effected by someone stalking them. Those are frightening figures.

A stalker is terrifying, you lose all sense of freedom when you are wondering if they are watching you and when.. Are they watching you when you have dinner with friends? Calling you constantly?Does your inbox constantly get bombarded with messages from them? Or Twitter, Facebook… Any social media? Are they watching you while you go about your daily life in your own safe home?

It usually starts with the phone calls. The endless calls, when the phone rings and you recognize the phone number.

How to recognize a stalker:

• You go to your local stores and they ‘accidentally’ run into you and try to start conversation.
• You are driving and you look in the rear mirror, only to see that they are two cars behind you.
• It is late at night, you look out of your window and their car is down the road parked, engine and lights off, in total darkness.
• They call at your house wanting to talk to you, to reconcile the relationship.
• You find messages, emails, letters, gifts and small packages left for you.
• They start to threaten you and your loved ones.

It makes you feel vulnerable, stressed, fearful and threatened. Your privacy is gone and you have a stalker.

Stalkers have different psyches. It can be the jilted lover, husband or wife. It can be a co-worker, an admirer or friend, a social media ‘friend’. They come from all occupations and lifestyles.

What to do if you have a stalker:

• Make sure safety is paramount in your home, check the locks on all doors and window locks work etc. and the phone cable outside is out of reach.
• Rally your friends, family and co-workers for help and support.
• Keep a journal of all the events
• Get an additional phone number and keep it private. You must keep the old number and let it go to voice-mail, do not answer it or engage in conversation at all.
• If it is an ex-lover, calmly and politely tell them you are not interested. Do not get angry or shout this can acerbate the situation.
• Inform the police. Every state has Stalking Laws; I know the UK calls them Harassment Laws, this I know as the police told me I would be one of the first to use it when it passed in June 1997. (It worked too; my stalker was found guilty and now has a criminal record)
• Find a network or group in your area to help you.
• One of the first options you will be given is an Order of Protection, or a Restraining Order. This can work, but it can also push them over the edge to be violent or make them more determined.
• Always before starting a relationship, trust your instincts, if they say run, then run. Never communicate, talk or respond to a stalker. They can become violent and murderous.

I list all the above to help people understand what it means. The word ‘Stalker’ is banded around as a flippant joke, but when it happens to you, it is debilitating and frightening, even those of us who know we are strong and tough!

When it happened to me, I took all the advice I could and when it didn’t stop, I was strongly advised by the police that I sell my home and move away, far away…350 miles difference in fact (Which in the UK is regarded as far!). When a police officer tells you he believes your stalker has murderous intent, you tend to make plans to move quickly! It didn’t stop until after the court case. I still received phone calls at my new place of work, but when the Magistrates Court declared him guilty and threatened him with imprisonment. It stopped.

 

If you have a stalker please don’t think you can handle it all by yourself. Get help! There are people out there dedicated to helping you. You do not have to go through it on your own, terrified. Know you are not alone!

As the National Stalking Organization says:

Stalking: Know it, Name it, stop it!

www.rainn.org

www.safehorizon.org

www.ncvc.org

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/31/presidential-proclamation-national-stalking-awareness-month-2013

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• Local counseling center works to shed light on stalking during national awareness month (ktbs.com)
• New Law To Tackle Stalkers Comes Into Effect (news.sky.com)
• Scotland’s oldest sex stalker confesses to preying on second elderly victim (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• Stalkers face five years in jail to curb risk of them turning violent (thetimes.co.uk)
• Do the new stalking laws show we are taking this crime seriously? (guardian.co.uk)
• Stalking Bloggers in 2013 (breezybooksblog.wordpress.com)
• #India -The Bitter Truth Regarding Delhi Police’s Womens’ Help-Line #Vaw #Justice (kractivist.wordpress.com)

A Big Thank You to Everyone!

A big thank you to everyone who joined in with the free New Years give away for A Broken Ring on Kindle and making it the wonderful success it became!

When I started it I thought to myself that maybe just a couple of people might be interested but that it would be a perfect way to say thank you for all the support you have given me since I started this writing journey, which I have to say has become amazing. Since I began this I have met the most wonderful people who have become sincere, honest and beautiful friends who I have laughed with and shared the most darkest and brutal secrets with about life.

Over the year we have shared journeys of people becoming sick and recovering. Of those close who passed away into the light. I have felt been honored as people shared road trips, births, launched their own books. We have laughed and cried, sharing this most incredible journey we call ‘life’

Thank you for sharing with me. The Kindle giveaway was my way of “Paying it Forward’… hmm or ‘Back’ (giggles). It reached a #45 ranking on Amazon in Relationships and Families!

So hurray to you all!

Here’s a virtual glass of champagne as I toast you and wish you the very best in 2013!

Cheers!
http://www.photopin.com

 

Related articles

• My New Year gift to you! A free Kindle Edition of A Broken Ring (clairecappetta.wordpress.com)

My New Year gift to you! A free Kindle Edition of A Broken Ring

So many people have been so wonderfully supportive over 2012 and I wanted a way to give back.

To say a HUGE thank you for everything!

A free Kindle edition of A Broken Ring – A Woman’s Journey from Abuse to Empowerment to ring in the New Year!
My gift to you for 2013.

Available for 2 days only 1st-2nd January 2013

Please go to Amazon Kindle for your 2013 download (link below).
Wishing you a wonderful New Year!

www.amazon.com/ABrokenRing

Healing ghosts of Christmas past

Scrooge’s third visitor, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. First edition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I decided to take some time off over Christmas, to step back from my computer.  It was starting to feel a little like ‘Not seeing the woods for the trees” Sometimes in life I can get so emerged into work and tunneled visioned that I can start to feel a little overwhelmed and wonder where my next steps should be.

Just before Christmas I closed up my laptop and tucked it away so I couldn’t see it beckoning me, I think I can get so wrapped up in my virtual world I need to re-connect with myself again, to focus on what’s important and the message I want to get out there.

I realize the bottom line and the most important one is wanting people to know they are not alone when they are going or have been through abuse. I was told so many times that I was strange, not normal in my reactions. That I was a black sheep or better still needed to be put in a straight jacket and needed to be locked up with the key thrown away…

It still amazes me to this day how memories can be crystal clear and just flash into my mind out of the blue, ones I thought I had filed away under “Healed” only to discover I had filed them away under the wrong header and drawer of my mind.

To be really honest with you… I don’t like Christmas much. It creeps up on me every year as a dark monster… Lurking in the corners waiting to be released. The sense of dread starts at the beginning of December knowing the usual feelings of guilt and shame will wash over me like a tsunami. The memories taunt me, tower over me like a cold, scolding and unforgiving mother.

I long for January each year, to get past certain calendar dates, which once past I will be released into a newly born, fresh year filled with optimism and hope. Every year I tell myself next Christmas will be better… different.

Please don’t get me wrong! I’m not looking for “The Perfect Christmas” I don’t think anyone really has found that little animal yet, I believe those are made up of wonderful mistakes and comedies of errors to be thought back on down the road with laughter and conversations always starting with “Do you remember whens…?” Those are to be treasured. I’m talking about the life threatening, the verbal abuse that shanks like a sharpened knife in to your heart, the dread of hearing a doorbell ring and knowing you either can’t or don’t want to answer because you know what awaits behind it.

Every year people feel lost and lonely at Christmas, even those surrounded with rooms full of family and friends. Please spare a thought for those who are entering a Domestic Violence Shelter for the first time, terrified. Those who remain in violent situations, trying to smile to friends and family hoping the illusion of a perfect family won’t come crumbling down.

Just before Christmas I was offered an immense wealth of opportunities with my book for the coming year, some of which are incredibly amazing! On the call I had I was elated and excited, after it sunk in I was feeling overwhelmed. Now after taking a week off and giving myself time to digest everything I now feel in control and realize I have the power to choose and control everything that is offered my way.

My Christmas tsunami is receding back once again and I am looking forward to a

New Year earlier then usual. It is becoming a welcoming lighthouse in the distant, growing ever nearer. The beacon of light, beckoning me out of the fog.

I am working hard on the sequel to A Broken Ring. It is difficult at times reliving the past but I know once it is done I will feel a little more empowered and I might finally be able to put away my own ghosts of Christmas past!

Do you feel lonely at Christmas? Do you still have memories that haunt you each year? Do you feel you struggle through it with a fake smile?

Know you are not alone and that someone is right there with you!

If you need help please contact these organizations who are there 24/7 to help you

www.rainn.org

www.ncvc.org

www.safehorizon.org

Related articles

• Home for Christmas (carriecraig.wordpress.com)
• Jennifer Ball: I’m A Divorced Mom, And I’m Taking Christmas Back, Dammit (huffingtonpost.com)
• The Hidden Meaning of Christmas (susanpearson.me)
• So that was christmas? (keepbeingstrong.wordpress.com)

For a limited time only… A Christmas Special!!

For a limited time only… A Christmas Special!!

Buy A Broken Ring on Kindle for $2.99 for Christmas

Please feel free to share everywhere

Love n hugs ♥

www.amazon.com/abroken ring

It has been submitted into the library of Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence,

SCCADV is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing safety and support services to victims of Domestic Violence in Suffolk County, Long Island , New York.

http://www.sccadv.org

Also with Audry Hardy at Grove City Purple Purse Advocacy Gathering

http://clairecappetta.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/a-huge-thank-you-to-audry-hardy-of-grove-city-purple-purse-advocacy-gathering/