Sunday, May 2
11:15 AM (at First Congo)
This Sunday, May 2, at 11:15 AM, we invite you to walk from our church parking lot at First Congo in and around the Fox River. We will gather on behalf of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), a non-profit organization in the United States. Kristin Welch of Waking Women Healing Institute and member of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Task Force has helped spearhead the following plan: https://www.doj.state.wi.us/…/ocvs/finalmmiwplan-kit.pdf
On the afternoon of May 2, 2016, 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike, and 9-year-old Ian Mike, didn’t make it home from school. Instead, when they got off the school bus in Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Reservation, a predator tricked them into getting into his van. Hours later, passersby found Ian alone, wandering the desert. Police located Ashlynne’s body the next day. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled and bludgeoned repeatedly with a tire iron. Had there been an Amber Alert on reservation land, the chances of Ashlynne being found sooner and possibly still alive, would have greatly increased. Her mother, Pamela Foster, spent the next 4 years advocating to get the Amber Alert on all reservation lands. She worked closely with congress and the Amber Alert organization, tirelessly, telling her horrific story, so that other children would not meet Ashlynne’s fate.
Last year, President Trump signed Ashlynne’s Law, and the Amber Alert program is currently being brought to the native lands. On the 5 year Anniversary of her death, we are hoping to raise enough money to buy Ashlynne the gravestone she deserves. Her mother has picked out a large heart, flanked by 2 angels, but she cannot afford it at this time. Ashlynne deserves a beautiful headstone and Pamela deserves a special memorial for her daughter’s final resting place. Please help us reach our goal and make this happen.
Thank you for your help! You can donate on the gofundme page at https://gofund.me/c1229425. Any additional donations will be given to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) non-profit organization.
If you are unable to walk with us on Sunday, May 2, please consider MMIW’s nation-wide walk May 5 through May 8. You can sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/MN/Anywhere/2021MMIWVirtualEvent for this virtual race and donate to make MMIW awareness grow in the Fox Valley. If you are a walking anyway, this is a great way to dedicate your walk!
Thank you from our Racial Equity Exploration Group and the MMIW support group here at First Congo. It is our hope to walk for and alongside our brothers and sisters of all colors!
Meet in church parking lot at 11:00AM, we will follow CDC guidelines for outdoor gatherings. Please wear face masks if you would feel more comfortable.
Any questions, please contact Julie Gamm at [email protected] or (920) 858-0833.
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