Ithaca College

 The senior actors of the Department of Theatre Arts will present "Wheels for Women"- the first annual senior cabaret and silent auction to benefit residents of the Sakhi Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence in Kerala, India. 12/11, 7:00 pm in the Clark Theatre, Dillingham Center.

Suggested Donation: Students 5.00, Adults 10.00

Also: Silent Auction of local wines- must be 21 to participate. 

In the spring of 2010 Kathleen Mulligan  traveled to India with her Fulbright project “Finding Women’s Voices” which focused on the empowerment of women through voice.

She taught a workshop at the Sakhi shelter, and at the end of the evening her husband David asked the director of the shelter, Beena Sebastian, what they needed most. “We need a vehicle” she responded. “We need a way to rescue women and their children in the middle of the night without having to rely on cab drivers who may or may not be sympathetic.” Out of this, the project “Wheels for Women” was born. With the help of fellow actors at the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland MI (several of them Ithaca College students) Kathleen and David produced a benefit cabaret that raised the funds to purchase a brand new auto-rickshaw for the shelter.

The continued mission is two-fold:

To provide training for residents of the shelter to become licensed rickshaw drivers, thus helping them to achieve financial independence for themselves and their children

To purchase a second auto-rickshaw for the shelter to enable driver training.