This Saturday I will participate in the Vagina Monologues as a narrator to benefit the Center for Pacific Asian Families (CPAF). It is a charity that is vital to the Asian Pacific Islander community here in LA, helping victims of abuse and sexual assault break the cycle of violence and help women and children get back to a life of dignity and become survivors.

I participated last year in the Vagina Monologues to raise funds for CPAF with V-day's first all Pan-Asian cast. It was a powerful experience. If you have never seen the Vagina Monologues, I hope you can come this weekend. I think more importantly, the experience of hearing the words of this particular performance is something not only women can empathize with but an experience men should be part of as well.  Its not a play for everyone but from the audience reaction last year, I believe that you would walk away pensive, moved, and enriched, having laughed and cried.

Let me tell you more about the charity CPAF. The organization has been helping the Los Angeles community for 30 years now. They are a non-profit and all of their services are free. The agency specializes in assisting Asian and Pacific Islander women and families who are survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. What is incredible about this organization is that they are multi-lingual and can serve you in the language you feel most comfortable using.

I am a very visual person. I want to see things with my own eyes.  So, I went to CPAF and had a tour of their facilities. It's safe house is discrete and you would never know that their building is a shelter for women and children hiding from their abusers. As it should be. I spoke with some of the women there and heard their stories of abuse, sexual assault. Some women who come through this place are foreigners who didn't know that CPAF existed until the police called and advised them to get help. However, the police calling, the ER calling, its not a situation that is ideal. Women need to know that there is help, before it escalates to an ER or LAPD call.  CPAF can help. They can get you legal help. They even helped one of the women I spoke with get a divorce from her abusive husband. Free of charge. They sent her to vocational school to get her life started so she wouldn't have to remain dependent on her abuser. For Free. They housed her, fed her, gave her therapy, taught her English. All for free. You can leave your abuser. You can be a survivor, not a victim. To know more about CPAF and the great work they are doing here is a link to their website  www.cpaf.info

And they can only do all this good with donations. So, why not come to the Vagina Monologues, see a great performance and at the same time your support at V-day this weekend will support the women who need CPAF here in Los Angeles.

I hope to see you this weekend at the Aratani Japan America Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets available for 2PM Matinee and 8PM performance Saturday, March 15, 2008. Please log onto www.cpaf.info for more ticket information. Thanks for reading this, and for your support of one of my charities.

--Cher