To raise money for the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS), HerVoice will be hosting their first “Snowco” dance on Dec. 6 for not only Stone Bridge students, but students across the county.
HerVoice is a nonprofit club founded by Stone Bridge students dedicated to spreading awareness and providing resources for those dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault. This year, the club decided to take on a winter dance to not only bring people together, but spread awareness of a greater issue affecting millions across the country.
“We wanted to bring people together for a cause, not just for the purpose of getting dressed up and taking pictures for a winter event, but giving importance to a cause that happens year round,” Co-Founder and President Suhki Mahadevan said.
The planning for Snowco didn’t happen overnight. Over the course of many months, the student leaders of HerVoice dedicated numerous hours of time and energy to create an event that would educate and spread awareness while still giving students a classic dance experience.
“We’ve been planning this for almost six months,” Executive Vice-President Ved Bhandare said. “We came up with the idea in June and then in early July we started brainstorming what we wanted to have at the gala, so we’ve been preparing it for a while.”
Once the foundation of the event was planned, HerVoice began imagining what exactly ‘Snowco’ would look like and they are now proud to share the agenda of the event
“I am really excited for people to come out and listen to what’s going on in this community and for people to be there and support,” Director of Financing Ishita Sharma said. “We have a lot of fun things planned such as guest speakers, food, and a photobooth, so I think it will be a great time for anyone coming”
While many are looking forward to attending a fun event with friends, the focus of Snowco holds the same mission as HerVoice: to educate, spread awareness, and destigmatize domestic abuse for women.
“It’s a really good chance to learn more about the problem of domestic violence and how it is an important issue in Loudoun Country as well as meet with representatives who represent organizations about domestic violence and really just support the cause,” Bhandare said.
With the date rapidly approaching, officers of HerVoice reflect on their expectations and hopes for what the gala will bring to the community.
“One goal I have is for people to feel more comfortable speaking up about their experiences with domestic violence and sexual assault, and understanding that they should reach out to people and get the help and the resources they need,” Mahadevan said.
This year’s fundraising event for HerVoice has the mission of expanding the nonprofit’s message beyond Stone Bridge, with the gala open to the Loudoun County community as a whole.
“I’m hoping that through this event we can expand HerVoice in the community and in the county because the past few years HerVoice has mostly been at Stone Bridge,” Bhandare said.
As officers looked forward to their ambitions and goals for the nonprofit, they also reflected back on HerVoice’s journey as well as strengths.
“We started HerVoice in 2023, so two years ago now,” Mahadevan said. “We work to try to destigmatize domestic violence and sexual assault in the youth community as well as in the adult community. Our podcast is a really big part of what we do. We interview survivors as well as people that work in the domestic violence field and hear their stories about domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape.”
To hear more about the work of HerVoice, check out their podcast @Her Voice, Her Story. For any questions regarding Snowco or how to get involved with the club, contact the club leaders as they plan for their biggest event yet.
