Saturday’s Mic Drop: Lawrence’s Lip Sync Competition is more than just entertaining lip service for the Willow Domestic Violence Shelter
Lawrence’s Willow Domestic Violence Shelter describes its mission as “restoring the health and safety of people who have experienced domestic violence or human trafficking by providing safety, education, and advocacy.” Among its advocacy services is a new collaboration with the Lawrence Public Library, which started in early May. From 9 a.m. to noon every Monday, a Willow advocate is on hand to offer support or assist in finding services. It’s a way for those whose computers or phones might be monitored to seek the help they need, in a safe and inconspicuous location.
“We’re working to make it as comfortable and welcoming a space as possible,” says Will Averill, Willow’s director of community engagement. “For someone who just wants to come in and ask questions, all the way through to someone who might be in crisis, it’s a safe, open space.”
The 1994 Violence Against Women Act provides Willow with about half its budget through federal and state grants — about $500,000. The act was reauthorized in 2013, but it might expire in 2018.
“If that happens, it will reduce our services by about half,” explains Megan Stuke, Willow’s director of development. “So there’s importance in having this really active fundraising campaign, because we can’t depend on having 95 percent of our budgets be grants anymore.”
With that in mind, Stuke, Averill and their colleagues have organized Willow’s inaugural benefit: Mic Drop a lip-sync contest featuring 10 contestants from the Lawrence community, hosted by Maggie Allen and Andy Morton. The idea is to capitalize on the appeal of lip-sync showdowns such as those on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and the Spike series Lip Sync Battle.
“We actually haven’t done a lot of event-type fundraising in the past,” Stuke says. In fact, her job didn’t exist at Willow until she started in February of this year. There had been events organized by others in the past — concert proceeds donated to the shelter, for instance — but this is Willow’s first crack at active fundraising. So it’s going big, booking a Saturday night at Liberty Hall.
It’s about awareness as much as it’s about the money.
“For years and years and years, domestic violence was something nobody talked about,” Stuke says. “It was a family problem, behind closed doors and shoved away. We want people to know that we’re here, and not a secret organization.” Mic Drop is a way to put these topics in front of people who might not otherwise think about them.
“We deal with a lot of heavy subject matter, and this is kind of a fun, buoyant event,” Averill says, acknowledging the seriousness of the fundraiser and the help that it’s providing.
“We’re not here to jerk the tears out of anybody,” Stuke says. “This is a fun show. There will be costumes and things.”
Mic Drop: Lawrence’s Lip Sync Competition
Saturday, June 24, at Liberty Hall
