Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Matt Kahil joined Action Day Against Violence Against Women at the state capital in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday to provide support in their efforts to raise funding for support services for victims of domestic violence. Action Day was organized by domestic violence advocates to assist in the fundraising.
In addition to Kahil, Action Day was attended by domestic violence survivors as well as relatives of those who have been killed by their partners. It was dubbed “Action Day To End Violence Against Women” by those in attendance.
Kahil spoke at the event and championed the efforts of the Minnesota Chapter of Action Day:
“I have a beautiful mother, a beautiful sister, two beautiful nieces that I care about. At all costs I want to protect them and never see harm come to them,” Kalil told the crowd.
“I think it’s something that needs to be talked about among our community of families, to sustain and build healthy relationships to make our women, the people we care about most, feel protected and feel safe and help them to learn normal lives again.”
Kalil was at the Capitol for @MCBW1978‘s Action Day to End Violence Against Women. WATCH: http://t.co/G90vxRxa7N pic.twitter.com/Alxy6HxOcf
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 19, 2015
Others in attendance were state lawmakers, Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell, spoken word artist Claire Monesterio, and many others who work directly with victims of domestic assault. Executive Director Liz Richards said the goal was to obtain an additional $10 million to assist in efforts to provide support to more than 26 agencies spread across the state. Per John Croman of KARE:
She said 26 member agencies performed services for 84,000 women in one month alone last year, and reported 11,000 requests for help that couldn’t be met because of lack of staffing and resources.
“And, besides just responding to those who are experiencing violence, we also want to have the ability to start doing prevention work,” Richards explained.
Funding for these services is vital and much respect to Kahil for joining in the effort. For more information on Action Day click here.
Matt Kahil photo credit to Twincities.com
