Public urged to participate from home or work – and film the action

Because of the snow emergency, the annual flash mob dance to raise awareness of gender violence will move inside.

The inclement weather has prompted organizers of an annual flash mob dance to protest gender violence scheduled for today, Feb. 14, to regroup.

Because Chester County has declared a snow emergency, both venues for the “One Billion Rising for Justice” event – the historic courthouse and West Chester University – are closed today. As an alternative, organizers are inviting the public “to rise up” from their own home or place of work.

Participants can gather together or go solo – and should turn on a camera to capture the moment. Footage can be posted on the event’s Facebook page –https://www.facebook.com/ChesterCountyRises?ref=hl – or emailed to Angie Williams at angieywilliams@hotmail.com.

Organizers, who include Chester County Fund for Women and Girls, the Domestic Violence Center, the Crime Victims Center of Chester County, Confidance, and Turks Head Yoga, said Williams has volunteered to edit all the videos to create one collective Chester County Rises 2014 video.

The “One Billion Rising for Justice” campaign builds on the energy and momentum created on Feb. 14, 2013, when one billion activists in 207 countries and territories came together to rise, strike, and dance, in the biggest mass action in human history, to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

To learn the dance steps, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3weUkQ8uIVM. Organizers stress that this is not an event exclusive to women; men and kids of all ages and abilities are urged to participate.