House Of Ruth Maryland Launches New Teen Website: Youlovemeyoulovemenot.com, Announces National Partnership with Alpha Chi Omega and the Conclusion of "A Line In The Sand"

BALTIMORE, MD – On October 7, 2010, House Of Ruth Maryland launched its new teen-focused website, YouLoveMeYouLoveMeNot.com, and announced the formation of a national partnership with Alpha Chi Omega to bring House Of Ruth Maryland’s teen curriculum to young people across the nation. In addition to announcing these two new initiatives, House Of Ruth Maryland unveiled the final showing of “A Line in the Sand,” a photographic exhibit chronicling Maryland’s fight against domestic violence and the people who led the way.

"In spite of all the efforts over the past 30 years, domestic violence continues to destroy families and threaten the lives of women and children,” said Sandi Timmins, Executive Director of House Of Ruth Maryland. “Today, we thank Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health for their unwavering support around the issue and for agreeing to host the final showing of this exhibit. ‘A Line in the Sand’ was one platform for engaging public dialogue about domestic violence. Today, we’re launching two new platforms – a website geared specifically to teens and a national partnership with Alpha Chi Omega to train and utilize
its more than 200,000 alumnae to become a much-needed safety link on the ground.”

The new website, YouLoveMeYouLoveMeNot.com, is funded in part by a grant from the Verizon Foundation and COVERGIRL and allows teens to take an interactive “Rate Your Relationship” quiz, provides warning signs, tips for staying safe online and gives teens the opportunity to define, in their own words, what “you love me” or “you love me not” means by submitting video clips, texts and photos.

In addition to the website, House Of Ruth Maryland is honored to announce a national partnership with Alpha Chi Omega. Alpha Chi Omega and its more than 200,000 members are working with House Of Ruth Maryland to train their collegiate and alumnae members on House Of Ruth Maryland’s teen curriculum in order to bring it to young people and schools across Maryland and the nation.

“This partnership with House Of Ruth Maryland gives Alpha Chi Omega the ability to realize our philanthropic mission. Since 1992, we have worked to increase awareness of dating and domestic violence and now we have a coordinated plan to reach young women at a time when they are most at risk,” said Marsha King Grady, National President of Alpha Chi Omega.

In addition to the launch of the new website and the national partnership, it is also a time to say farewell. The final showing of House Of Ruth Maryland’s photographic exhibit “A Line in the Sand” began on October 5 will conclude on November 12, 2010. This exhibit, which has traveled throughout the state over the past two and a half years, has helped raised the public spotlight around the issue of domestic violence, an issue which claimed the lives of at least 50 women and children in Maryland alone last year.

Conceived and created by House Of Ruth Maryland, “A Line in the Sand” displays more than 20 interpretive portraits and short essays that chronicle Maryland’s fight against domestic violence and the people who led the way. The subjects featured in this exhibit range from household names to ordinary people, yet all reached a point where they said, “Enough” and drew a definitive “line in the sand” to combat domestic violence.

Some have done it at incredible risk to their own safety, while others have shown almost super human perseverance by taking on the attitudes and systems that allow the problem to continue. All have made a very real difference in the lives of Maryland’s women and children.

Resources:
** House Of Ruth Maryland: http://www.hruth.org
** House Of Ruth Maryland Teen Website: www.youlovemeyoulovemenot.com
** Alpha Chi Omega: www.alphachiomega.org



About House Of Ruth Maryland

House Of Ruth Maryland is the non-profit organization that provides the most comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence in the state of Maryland. House Of Ruth Maryland leads the fight to end domestic violence against women and their children by confronting attitudes, behaviors and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear. Since its founding in 1977, House Of Ruth Maryland has helped more than 100,000 victims through its shelter, 24-hour hotline, counseling, outreach, training and legal services.


About Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Chi Omega is a values-driven women’s fraternity founded in 1885 at DePauw University (only the 6th of its kind in the country). It has 134 chapters across the country and more than 210,000 alumnae. The seven founders wanted Alpha Chi Omega to advance “the intellectual, social and moral culture” of its members. 125 years later, that idea is still alive. Far more than a place to live or a social organization, Alpha Chi Omega’s mission is to enrich the lives of members through lifetime opportunites for friendship, leadership, learning and service.