Jennifer Ann's Group News

June 4, 2009
Jennifer Ann's Group is pleased to announce that our executive director will be collaborating with Manuela Bauer from Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz on a paper on domestic violence. The paper will explore the impact of dating and domestic violence in Central Europe as well as comparing the Austrian justice system's approach with that of the United States.

May 29, 2009
Jennifer Ann's Group met with Austrian Supreme Court Justice Dr. Matthias Neumayr and discussed the prevalence of teen dating violence as well as the efforts and successes of Jennifer Ann's Group. The more that we can make judicial and legislative bodies aware of this issue, the easier it's going to be to pass future legislation.

May 28, 2009
The winning entries for our 2009 Life.Love. Game Design Challenge have been announced and are available for you to play now! We're pleased to announce that this year there was a 40% increase in the number of entries and had our first international winner this year! Thank you to everybody for your support and start getting ready for next year's contest!

April 26, 2009
The auction for the limited edition AF1 Nike shoes netted Jennifer Ann's Group over $1250! This will help us to continue our mission to educate students, educators, administrators, parents, and legislators about the very real dangers of Teen Dating Violence. Thank you again to Kotaku for their generous donation!

April 16, 2009
Gaming site Kotaku has graciously donated a limited edition of AF1 Nike shoes and we're auctioning them off at eBay. 100% of the proceeds go to Jennifer Ann's Group.

April 15, 2009
We are currently in the running for $1000 from Adobe but need your support to make it to the next round of judging. Visit this link and vote for us please.

April 13, 2009
Our latest order of cards is coming in this week and we will ship them out as soon as possible. We ordered 80,000 English and 45,000 Spanish cards and hope that they are helpful to everybody!

March 13, 2009
Jennifer Ann's Group was interviewed by NPR's Michel Martin for her show "Tell Me More" airing on Monday, March 16th. You can listen to the show online.

February 5, 2009
We have a new page on our site for ideas on what you can do to help spread awareness about Teen Dating Violence.

February 2, 2009
First place for our video game design contest to STOP Teen Dating Violence is $1500 this year so check out the rules and start working on your entry!

February 1, 2009
We have ordered another 125,000 cards and should have them in April. Thank you to our donors!

January 15, 2009
Have you played the winning entries from the 2008 Life.Love. Video game challenge?

October 29, 2008
Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson and Paul Richeson for the recognition that they received from El Paso District Attorney Esparza on Saturday, October 25, 2008.

Dr. Richeson Receives Award at Crime Victims Conference
At the 3rd Annual Crime Victims Conference "Help-Hope-Healing" Texas psychologist Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson and husband Paul Richeson were presented an award by District Attorney Esparza for Crime Victims who have gone "above and beyond." In addition to providing testimony for the passage of HouseBill 121, and facilitating "Jennifer's Law" they are working nationally through Jennifer Ann's Group to educate others about the dangers of dating violence. Nearly 200,000 cards created to educate teens about abusive relationships have been distributed and another 125,000 cards have been ordered.

October 22, 2008
Jennifer Ann's Group partner, When Love Hurts, announces an event at the intersection of culture, art, music, fashion, dialogue, and a grand time to fight emotional, physical, sexual and verbal abuse.

When: Friday, October 24, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m. EST (VIP/Sponsor/Patron Reception) - Private Invite Only
6:30 p.m. EST Vigil - Open To Public
7:30 p.m. EST ART ~ MUSIC ~ DIALOGUE - Open To Public

dooGallery
205 Holtzclaw Unit J
Atlanta, GA 30316
RSVP online now!

October 18, 2008
We're having a McFundraiser on Wednesday November 5, 2008 at McDonalds 6101 North Mesa, El Paso, TX. Come meet our Surprise Servers! We'll have Door Prizes, Home Baked Goodies and more. For more information call (915)584-3636.

October 7, 2008
Jennifer Ann's Group is proud to be working with the Bravery Project in their efforts to support domestic violence organizations. View the portrait of Jennifer at their website, and please spend some time exploring their site and their mission.

September 20, 2008
Thank you to our sponsors and everybody else for your incredible support of our annual fundraiser! We are very happy to announce that we are ordering 125,000 more cards!

September 13, 2008
Our Texas fundraiser is tonight and we wanted to once again thank our fantastic sponsors for their support of our efforts to STOP Teen Dating Violence!

August 15, 2008
We now have a resource page for those of you wanting to help us spread the word about Teen Dating Violence. We have banners, videos, games, widgets and more - and you can share all of them on MySpace, Facebook, your blog, or your website. Check it out and help us STOP Teen Dating Violence! Teen Dating Violence resource page

June 11, 2008
PLEASE HELP - we have shipped over 171,000 of our cards and have run completely out - we are in desperate need of your donations.

May 31, 2008
We have a PSA about Teen Dating Violence available on YouTube. If you know of a TV station that can run this PSA it would greatly help spread the word about Teen Dating Violence. Please contact us if a TV station needs the original on tape and we'll gladly get it to them. Additionally if you like the video (or don't!) please leave a comment on YouTube and share the video with others!

May 27, 2008
Video Game Design Contest winners announced - play and share the games while spreading the word about Teen Dating Violence.

May 16, 2008
The entry period for our first video game contest has ended and we are busily evaluating the entries. Visit us on May 27, 2008 to find out who our winners are!

May 14, 2008
We ran through our initial order of 10,000 Spanish Educational Cards quickly (less than one month!) and are already out. Our recent surge in popularity means that we've been able to reach more students, educators and parents across the country but also means that our card inventory hasn't kept up with demand. As soon as we've received necessary funding we will be ordering a new shipment of Spanish cards. I am hopeful that will have more cards in stock by the end of June, 2008. Please donate to help us or share our story with your school or organization if they will be able to support us.

April 18, 2008
The new order of our Educational Cards has come in - we received 50,000 English cards and 10,000 of our new Spanish cards. In the past two weeks we've had backorders for about 20,000 of the cards and I'll be sending those out early next week. It looks like we'll have to place a new order within the month or we'll likely run out again. Keep those orders coming! We'll be focusing on fundraising to help pay for the cards & shipping in the meantime.

March 29, 2008
Save the Date! Our 2nd Annual benefit is scheduled for September, 13 2008. Read here for further details about our annual fundraiser to fight Teen Dating Violence.

March 13, 2008
Advisory board member Dr. E.L. Richeson was again on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet to discuss Teen Dating Violence. Check back later for the video.

February 21, 2008
Advisory board member Dr. E.L. Richeson was on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet discussing Teen Dating Violence. Watch the video Teen Dating Violence: The Morning Show, Feb 2008 - Q & A at YouTube.

February 15, 2008
Our video game contest has begun! Can you create the winning entry and win our grand prize of $1,000? Just create a flash-based game that educates others about Teen Dating Violence and you might be the winner! For full details check out our contest page and be sure to join the discussion on our new forum.

Today is the two-year anniversary of Jennifer Crecente's murder and we fervently hope that through contests like this one that we will educate everybody about the very real dangers of Teen Dating Violence.

December 26, 2007
Our new forum for the discussion of Teen Dating Violence is now open! Please visit our forum to discuss resources for victims of Dating Violence, current stories in the news and popular culture and more. Go to the forum now to register and confirm your information and you will be able to discuss this and more!

October 8, 2007
We are very pleased to announce that the Texas Psychological Association has awarded the TPA 2007 Outstanding Contribution to Public Service Award to board member Dr. Elizabeth Richeson. Dr. Richeson's commitment and service to interests in Psychology and public service at the local, state and national levels are exemplary and as a result she was chosen as the 2007 recipient. Please join us in thanking Dr. Richeson for her outstanding work!

September 28, 2007
Our latest order of Educational Cards - all 100,000 of them - has arrived! Several groups have been waiting for this latest shipment and we will be sending them out next week. If your group can use these cards please contact us via email and we'll get them out to you within the week.

We've received many emails asking for the cost of these cards - there is no cost, regardless of how many you want to order - we've sent from 100 up to 5,000! If your group would like to make a donation of course we would be happy to accept it. Some groups have reimbursed us for our shipping costs but in any case the most important thing is to get these cards into the hands of our Teens. We greatly appreciate the interest that we've received from all over the country.

August 1, 2007
Jennifer's killer pled guilty to murder today as part of a plea agreement. He has agreed to 35 years in prison and will be eligible for parole at 17 1/2 years. Additionally he has agreed to supply testimony against Ricardo Roman. Roman has been arrested and indicted for murder. More details to follow.

Many thanks to all that have supported Jennifer's loved ones through this very traumatic process.

July 21, 2007
The Colquitt County Arts Center is dedicating their performances of "Oliver" to Jennifer's memory. Jennifer Crecente performed in "Oliver" when she lived in Colquitt County and the Arts Center thought that it would be appropriate to honor her with this new production. We are extremely grateful to the Arts Center and the community which have very been very supportive of Jennifer and Jennifer Ann's Group.

June 15, 2007
Governor Rick Perry has signed "Jennifer's Law". The law provides the opportunity for families to request a posthumous diploma if a high school student dies during their Senior year subject to certain conditions. We greatly appreciate the support of Senators Shapleigh and Bolton in their support of this law.

May 18, 2007
Governor Rick Perry has signed HB 121 into law. This law will require every school district in Texas to adopt formal policies regarding Teen Dating Violence. We are honored to have played a small part in helping to get this legislation passed. Our hope is to make our Educational Cards available to every Texas district that requests them.

April 20, 2007
Our First Annual Fundraiser has sold out! Thank you so much to all of the fantastic sponsors, donors, volunteers and supporters. If you were unable to get tickets to the event you still have the opportunity to bid on some great Nintendo Packages via eBay. Read about the auction at the video game blog, Kotaku. 100% of the selling price goes to Jennifer Ann's Group!

April 12, 2007
The Education subcommittee has passed "Jennifer's Law" to the full Senate for approval. We are hopeful that the Senate will pass "Jennifer's Law" during this session. Our thanks to Senator Shapleigh and his staff for their continued work and support.

March 28, 2007
The trial date has been set for Jennifer's murder. Currently the trial is scheduled to begin July 23, 2007 in Austin, Texas.

March 20, 2007
The First Annual Fundraiser for Jennifer Ann's Group will be April 21, 2007 in El Paso, Texas. The event will include dinner, dancing, a silent auction and more. Tickets are $45 per person and can be purchased online or over the phone by check or credit card. Please contact Dr. Elizabeth Richeson for further details at (915) 584-3636. More details available on our First Annual Fundraiser for Jennifer Ann's Group Page.

March 6, 2007
Our order of 10,000 Educational Cards have come in and they look fantastic. This new set of cards has a toll-free number that is available 24 hours a day as well as the "Ten Warning Signs." Please contact us through the contact email at the bottom of the page for information on ordering cards. There is no charge for these cards but we are happy to accept any donations! Our preference is to send a minimum of 100 cards in order to minimize shipping expenses.

February 15, 2007
Jennifer Ann's Group is excited to announce today, on the one-year anniversary of Jennifer's murder, that Senator Eliot Shapleigh has proposed legislation to provide posthumous diplomas to high school students that have been murdered during their final year of school. This new bill is named "Jennifer's Law" in memory of our Jennifer. Many thanks to Senator Shapleigh and to Representative Valinda Bolton for their support for this worthy cause.

February 13, 2007
Jennifer Ann's Group provided testimony to the Texas Legislature regarding a new bill to help curb Teen Dating Violence. HB 121 will require Texas school districts to adopt policies regarding Teen Dating Violence.

February 8, 2007
Jennifer Ann's Group is pleased to announce that it is partnering with The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. The Helpline launches today and provides toll-free assistance, information and referrals for teens that are in abusive relationships. We have ordered 10,000 Educational Cards that include the Helpline phone number. We will be distributing these cards to the Educational, Healthcare and Governmental sectors.

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