On March 10, 2013, Foundation Board member, John Varvatos, hosted The 10th Anniversary John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit – Bring Your Heart to Our House. Presented by Chrysler, co-chaired by Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, with an amazing kids’ tent created by Hasbro, and featuring a live concert by Steven Tyler, and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, with special guest, Slash – the event was a spectacular success. Over 1,500 people came together to enjoy good food, shop, participate in live and silent auctions and listen to a spectacular musical performance. The event shines light on the issue of child sexual abuse and the work of Stuart House, the Rape Treatment Center’s internationally recognized model program created to meet the special needs of child victims.

Foundation Board member, John Varvatos, hosted The 9^th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit – Bring Your Heart to Our House on March 11, 2012. Presented by Chrysler, co-chaired by Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow, with an amazing kids’ tent created by Hasbro, and featuring a live concert by Dave Matthews – the event was a spectacular success. Over 1,500 people came together to enjoy good food, shop, participate in live and silent auctions and listen to an unforgettable Dave Matthews performance. The event shines light on the issue of child sexual abuse which for too long has been shrouded by shame and secrecy.

The Rape Foundation Annual Brunch, held on September 25, 2011, was hosted by cast members of MAD MEN, including Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, Vincent Kartheiser, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, and Aaron Staton. J.K. Simmons, a versatile and beloved actor, served as the emcee. MAD MEN cast members spoke to an audience of 800 people with powerful statements about their experiences visiting the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House.

The Rape Foundation was proud to honor these outstanding actors for their brilliant performances in MAD MEN that have created one of the most thoughtful, intelligent, and entertaining shows on television. MAD MEN has been called a “history lesson.” It illuminates the social mores, attitudes, and sanctioned behaviors of the era in which the show is set. We see and feel the human impact of sexism, racism, homophobia, and related inequities and workplace politics as they were expressed in a different time.The Rape Treatment Center confronted many of these challenges when it was established in the 1970s.

The Rape Foundation Men’s Advisory Council hosted a pre-release screening of TRUST, on March 7, 2011, a powerful film produced and directed by Foundation Board member David Schwimmer, and starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis, and Liana Liberato.  TRUST is a powerful and thought-provoking film about a young girl who is betrayed and sexually assaulted by someone she meets on the Internet, the impact of this trauma on the victim, and her family’s struggle to cope with the aftermath. The film also explores the challenges of parenting and keeping kids safe in the digital age. The screening was followed by a Q & A with the audience led by David Schwimmer and Doug Hunt, an FBI agent who served as a consultant on the film.

The Rape Foundation sponsored a ground-breaking conference in Los Angeles at The California Endowment on January 26, 2012:  What the Tech:  The Impact of Digital Technology on Kids’ Social and Emotional Development – Fostering Empathy, Learning, and Wise Choices. The conference brought together national experts to talk with parents, educators, and child development professionals about how kids are spending their time online and how the adults in their lives can help them navigate and derive the most benefit from their participation in the digital world. 

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including how communicating from behind a screen affects empathy, social skills, and peer relationships; some surprising truths about kids’ use of video games; how kids’ learning in the digital world transfers to real world situations; and how we can teach kids to be helpful allies to their peers both online and offline.  Click here for further information and videos of the presentations delivered at the What the Tech conference.