V.J. Smith, Marsha Mayes, Among The Community Activists and Parents Who Will Join Radio Personality To Shed Light on Impact of Gun Violence in the Community
Twin Cities radio personality Georgia Ellyse is on a mission to help families heal from losing their loved ones to violence. The host of KMOJ’s Midday Show has scheduled a takeover at the station today (March 14) to highlight the impact of gun violence in the community.
Ellyse will be joined by several community leaders, activists and grieving mothers during the show, from 10 am to 2pm CST. The takeover is in support of “Campaign L2V: From Victims to Victory,” an initiative she is spearheading with Faith’s Lodge to provide a weekend retreat for eight families who have lost children to violence.
Among those scheduled to appear on the air are V.J. Smith, MADDADS national president and founder of the local Minneapolis chapter; Marsha Mayes, Minneapolis mother who has lost her three-year-old son, Terrell, to a stray bullet in the “safety” of her Northside home; Kelly McDyre, Faith’s Lodge executive director; and Tobechi Tobechukwu, artist/activist renowned for his “Genocide Moms Project”.
Ellyse has already garnered front-page coverage in Insight News and has taken Campaign L2V nationally with Clutch Magazine. She wants, however, to make sure her community is aware of the campaign’s resources for support and healing.
“I want to continue engaging the community by discussing the implications of violence in our neighborhood,” said Ellyse. “Just two months ago, tragedy struck, taking the lives of innocent children in Newtown. And, in 2012, violence repeatedly took the lives of children here in Minneapolis, and we can’t forget about tragedies like Trayvon Martin. Sure, we can offer our condolences and hold rallies, but who offers a place for those parents to heal?”
While Wisconsin-based Faith’s Lodge serves any families who have experienced the death of child, Campaign L2V marks the first time programming has been focused on death related to violence. The campaign will culminate in April with the selection of eight applying families for a stay at Faith’s Lodge the weekend of April 18-21, 2013.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 2013
TIME: 10:00am – 2:00pm CST
LOCATION: 89.9/KMOJ FM Radio Station, 23 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis
WHO: Georgia Ellyse, Ambassador Faith’s Lodge/ Host, KMOJ “Midday Show”
V.J. Smith, Founder, MADDADS Minneapolis chapter; President, MAD DADS National chapter
Marsha Mayes, Minneapolis mother who has lost her three-year-old son to a stray bullet
Kelly McDyre, Faith’s Lodge executive director
Tobechi Tobechukwu, artist/activist renowned for his haunting “Genocide Moms” portrait series of mothers whose children have been lost to violence