February is known to be the month celebrating love and relationships. However, amidst the flowers, chocolate and going on dates, 35.6% of women and 28.5% of men face domestic violence in the United States. Voice for the Silenced, a club at WCHS founded by juniors Lyndee Sklute, Sareena Haq and Gabi Shewchuk, was created in order to be a voice for the millions of people affected by domestic violence. 

“Our goal is to advocate for domestic abuse victims, however as time has passed, our goal has evolved with the needs of minority communities,” club founder and WCHS junior Lyndee Sklute said. “It was founded in 2020, after I became appalled at the continuous cycle of domestic abuse.”

One of the organizations that Voice for the Silenced partnered with is DC Safe, located in Washington D.C. Voice for the Silenced has organized many events in order to not only raise money but get donations of basic necessities for victims of domestic violence.

“Last year, we partnered with DC Safe, a crisis intervention agency for women facing domestic abuse, and initiated a product drive to collect items from undergarments to toys for children,” Sklute said. “Over time, the initiative has expanded as support became vital for various communities, such as the women in Iran. We organized a bake sale to raise money to donate to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. We baked over four-hundred homemade pastries, stood in single-digit weather and raised over one thousand dollars to donate.”

While the club has focused specifically on helping and donating to women in women’s shelters, Voice for the Silenced was also created to inform WCHS students and spread awareness about issues with domestic violence. However, the club works to help those in need, not just women facing domestic violence.

“With our club in the future we will be hosting more activities about mental health and how to help people who are struggling,” Haq said. “We also in the future want to educate club members on how to defend themselves and educate them on warning signs to stay safe.”

This month’s meeting is focusing specifically on relationship abuse and spreading awareness to teens about teen dating violence. 

“We are going to go over dating violence simultaneously during the meeting because February is teen dating awareness month, and valentine’s day is extra difficult for those who have experienced abuse,” Sklute said.

During this month’s meeting, the club is also focusing on helping sick children in the hospital. Members of Voice for the Silenced are able to create cards for these children during their meeting. 

“We are hosting a club event at lunch where students are able to make valentines cards for a nearby children’s hospital,” Haq said. “Encouraging and uplifting cards are needed to help bring joy to the kids.” 

Voice for the Silenced prides themselves on being a club that helps those in need. However, there are many opportunities that WCHS students have in order to make a difference. 

“Simple activities like donating old clothes or making cards for sick children in hospitals makes an impact on our community,” Haq said. “Although we can’t fully change someone’s lives, we can make their day a little better and bring them some hope that things will get better.”