I have brought up the Pretty Bird Woman House Woman's Shelter on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation when I discussed the horrific Amnesty International report on the high incidence of rapes of Native American women by outsiders who seldom get procecuted. This shelter's sad story has continued. It was vandalized and is not being sold off. This will leave many women on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation with no support system. On Daily Kos a fundraiser is being held to raise enough money to buy the property and set it up to be a safe and secure women's shelter again.

I am asking you to help out. I donated $100. Some are donating as much as $500. This is pure, old fashioned good works in keeping with the holiday season.

From Daily Kos:

The other day, Georgia Little Shield, the shelter director, used the money we had raised so far to place a bid on the house you see in the photos below. This was great news, but since there was only enough money for a really low bid, things are still a bit tenuous on the house purchase. And then they will need extra for closing costs and a security system.

But we're coming very close to having this shelter be a successful netroots project!

So here's my challenge: $10K by the end of the weekend to seal the deal!

With $10K more, if Georgia has to bid up a little, she will still have money for closing costs. If the seller, a church, does accept the bid, we can get a security system for the house, which will allow the shelter to begin operations much more quickly.

Where else can you see your donations doing something so huge so fast?

A good security system with cameras is pretty expensive. A neighboring shelter spent over $7,000 to have one installed. And then we'll need a fence. That's going to be another large chunk of change. Since this is a one story house, the fence is vital in addition to the security system, so we don't have batterers trying to get in the bedroom windows at night. We don't want a repeat of the theft and vandalism either.

We're at a critical point in this project, and your donations will make a huge difference now. You can go here to donate and get all the info you could possibly want on the shelter if you have missed the story up until now.

There will are other expenses attached to the new house as well. Because of the prior thefts they're also going to need a TV, VCR, DVD player, and the entertainment center to put them on. Boy it really sucks that they got so much stuff stolen! They're also going to need a washer and dryer, as well as new dressers, 2 more bunk beds, and 2 more double beds, since more women and children will be housed here than in the other shelter. They also will need extra couches and chairs because the living room is so big, and the outside of the house needs a new coat of paint.

Those items are all important, but the money to seal the deal for the house and buy the security system is the most urgent.

So please everyone, if you can't donate, keep passing the word. We are SO close.

Can we raise the $10K this weekend?. We're inches away from this being a hugely successful netroots project!

P.S. The shelter also just received another federal grant. If we can get this house, that grant will pay for utilities, food and other expenses. It's also funding another advocate. So, we've got great long-term viability here, we just need to help them with their infrastructure! They are also planning a domestic violence conference for April that will be free for all Standing Rock residents. Georgia just never quits, even in the middle of all this house chaos!

Join me in helping this wonderful project. The netroots can really make this a permanent shelter.

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