#rapha house

Movie Recommendation: Finding Home

This past weekend, I saw the new documentary, Finding Home. The documentary “follows the lives of three young Cambodian women who were victims of sex trafficking at a young age. Experience these girls heartaches and hopes as they struggle to go from victim to survivor.”

While a member of the national honor society in high school, we focused on sex trafficking in Chicago as our project for the school year, so I already had some knowledge on this devastating topic. However, I had no idea what to expect. This film brilliantly shows the reality of what victims go through, especially in a foreign country. This film will make you sad, laugh, cry, and angry, but it is worth watching and learning more about such an important topic. 

I'm not the biggest fan of reader's theatre, but the Vagina Monologues does have a good message that is evolving and growing as feminism does each and every day (we aren't just women-positive, we are EVERYONE-positive)! I hope to see more men-positive monologues in the future (men can be feminists too, you know...and...I know this may come as a shock to some...can be victims of rape, assault, abuse and many other terrible things). I was ECSTATIC to perform the new monologue for transgender women! 

Hi Everyone,

It has been a while since I've made an update around here, but that isn't because I haven't been busy working - in fact the opposite is true, I've been too busy to post. Anyhow, I've got a couple of interesting things to tell you, and better yet, some new work to show you.

Rapha House Work

As you know, I am the in house graphic designer at Rapha House. I've been busy developing a few major projects this last couple months, and a few of them are finally ready to reveal to the public. First I want to show you the ALL NEW Rapha House t shirts.

Just in time for the 4th of July, our new “Freedom” shirt lets you celebrate your independence while also helping give freedom to the Rapha House girls. Shirts will come in either red or blue and will cost just $20 each. Rapha House is printing a limited number of these shirts, so be sure to order yours today! You can place your order through email or facebook. Sizes available are S-XXL. There are a couple of other limited edition designs lined up, but you will have to stay tuned to see when we release those.

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Captain Freedom VBS Curriculum

School's out, which means it's time for Vacation Bible School. Rapha House VBS Missions Curriculum is now available! If you would like to receive a complimentary copy for your church's VBS program please call 417.621.0373 to place your order!

This is a project that our entire staff has put a lot of work into. From copy writing, to video production and graphic design, this is a big project that we've put a lot of effort into, and we're glad to be able to present it to you.

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Announcing our Freedom Stylist Campaign.

I am currently sitting in my office at the Rapha House, and I was thinking that it's time I write another update letting you know what I'm up to. There are a lot of exciting things being developed here right now, and I'm looking forward to showing you some new material.

In other news, I do have an exciting update about support raising. As you probably have heard, I need to raise support in order to work here. (If this is news to you, please ask and I'll be happy to tell you more about it.) I had sent out letters to a select list of people, and I have had a good response from people saying that they intended to support me. I am incredibly grateful for your belief in my skills and belief in what Rapha House is doing.

I have had a lot of people asking recently about making payments online. I know just as much as anyone that this is a convenient and safe way to do payments, and I wanted to let you know how you could do this if you choose. There are basically two options for setting up online support. Here they are:

Your online bank account - This should be fairly simple, but since every bank's website is a little different so I can't give comprehensive details. You can set it up to automatically withdraw (or you can manually do it if you're not comfortable with that sort of thing) and send it to Rapha House. It is very important, though, that you designate that the donation go to Tony Otero, otherwise your gift will be sent to the general fund.

Rapha House's donation page - This is basically the same thing but it's done directly through Rapha's website and not your bank. Again, designate that the donation go to Tony Otero, or your gift will go to the general fund.

If you're a big fan of signing a paper check and sending it through the mail, that is totally fine too. Of course, all donations are 100% tax deductible, and we will be sure to send you a receipt letter for your records. If you have any questions whatsoever, or just want to chat, please don't hesitate. You can come on down to the Rapha House Gallery, or send me an email at totero(at)raphahouse.org. I look forward to hearing from you!

Baht.