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Mayor Miro Weinberger Proclaims 9/12 "Laura Kate Winterbottom Day" and Encourages Community to Participate in Laura's March on 9/14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 12, 2013
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                  802.735.7962

Mayor Miro Weinberger Proclaims 9/12 “Laura Kate Winterbottom Day” and Encourages Community to Participate in Laura’s March on 9/14

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today issued a proclamation declaring it “Laura Kate Winterbottom Day” in Burlington.  The dedication comes on Laura’s birthday and two days before Laura’s March, an event hosted by the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund, a non-profit founded to benefit causes Laura would have loved and to end sexual violence in the wake of her rape and murder in 2005.

“Today we welcome the Winterbottom family back to Burlington to celebrate the wonderful legacy of their daughter Laura,” said Mayor Weinberger. “It is a privilege to recognize Laura and share the great work that has been accomplished in her name for causes she loved and supported.” 

Mayor Weinberger was joined by Laura’s parents, Ned and JoAnn Winterbottom, her sister Leigh Winterbottom, and representatives from the beneficiaries of this year’s Laura’s March, including Kim Fountain of SafeSpace, Tony Moulton of HOPE Works, and Sally Borden of the Kid Safe Collaborative.

“We are honored to work with the Mayor on Laura’s birthday, to share her story,” said Ned Winterbottom, Laura’s father.  “She was passionate about art and loved working with children.  We’re happy we can carry on her legacy by giving back to the community in which she lived.”

The Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund has raised nearly $100,000 to date, contributing funds to more than 40 non-profit organizations in Chittenden County and surrounding areas.

Mayor Weinberger encouraged community participation in the seventh annual Laura’s March, a 5k walk/run, to help bring an end to sexual violence and to support victims of such violence.  Weinberger invited City residents and members of the greater Burlington community to join the cause this Saturday, September 14, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. on the Burlington Bike Path at Oakledge Park.

Earlier this summer, the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund’s board of directors reached out to our community to let people know how deeply they regret that this year’s Laura’s March will take place on Yom Kippur.  They realized the oversight too late to change the date and appreciate that some people may not be able to join the cause on this holiest of days.  They express deepest respect for the sanctity of Yom Kippur and request all who participate in the March this year to do so with a consciousness that the mission of the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund, supporting programs that seek to end sexual violence and address its consequences using constructive, restorative ways, is fully in consonance with the soul searching of Yom Kippur.

For more information or to donate, please visit: www.lkwfund.org or www.firstgiving.com/lkwfund.

*Please see attached proclamation.

 

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Press Release Date: 
09/12/2013
City Department: 
Mayor's Office