Organizers of this year’s TCU V-Day Campaign added a new community service aspect to the campaign which focuses on the Women’s Center of Tarrant County.

The Women’s Center of Tarrant County is a place where women who have been raped or sexually abused come to seek hope and emotional healing, according to the center's website. The Women's Center is also the local beneficiary of the TCU V-Day Campaign.

Mimi Woldeyohannes, senior political science major and executive director of the TCU V-Day Campaign, said the purpose of the V-Day Campaign is to raise awareness about violence against women and girls both locally and globally. 

The university's goal is to educate the community and bring people together for this shared cultural and personal experience, she said. 

According to Woldeyohannes, the TCU V-Day Campaign started in 2005. This is the first year the organization will offer community service.

"We want to get involved rather than just talk about getting involved." Christy Joy Wilson, a sophomore theatre major and marketing director for the organization, said.

Melissa Gruver, the TCU V-Day campaign adviser, said she wants the members to be connected to the agencies that they benefit through the campaign so they can speak even more intelligently about issues of violence against women.

During this semester and next semester, there will be different opportunities to get involved at the Women’s Center. Gruver called it a “fit in where you get in type of thing".

Members can help out by participating in large group activities, such as the Victory Over Violence 5K and other events put on by volunteers at the Women’s Center. There are two or three members who may become victim advocates, which is a long training process, Gruver said — it's a two-year commitment. 

The main TCU V-Day Campaign events, such as the Vagina Monologues and the Poetry Slam, will take place next semester. Members are using this semester to plan and promote the campaign. 

“Through the TCU V-Day Campaign, we want students informed about the reality of the women in Tarrant County, as well as globally,” Gruver said.