In the early morning hours of September 18, 2010 Jennifer Vaughn Bates (Jenny) was horrifically murdered by her husband with a gunshot to her head after she began separation proceedings.  Her loss, and the circumstances surrounding her death, shocked all who knew her and left an unimaginable void in our lives.  It was an event that spiraled many of us into a world of sadness and depression.  Jenny always brought the sunshine to everyone’s lives and the thought of her not being here for her friends and family (particularly her two young sons) was more than most of us could handle alone.

Jenny had several groups of friends. There were her childhood friends, her extended family, her college buddies and her Prince William County colleagues. Through the grieving process all of these groups came together to support Jenny’s family and each other, trying to find some kind of peace and make sure that Jenny’s legacy lived on. This is how “No Woman, No Cry" was born.

We are a group of women from different parts of Jenny’s life that want to make sure that her tragic and untimely death was not in vain.  We know that Jenny would want something positive to come out of her plight. She would want her story told to hopefully prevent even one person from becoming another victim of domestic violence. She would want us to support organizations that help people (as she did in life) and most of all to provide a stable future for her two sons.

It is in this spirit that the “No Woman, No Cry 5K Walk” was created. This walk will celebrate Jenny’s life, while raising money for the National Network to End Domestic Violence and her two children. It is a way to channel negative energy into positive energy while bringing focus to a crisis that silently plagues our community.  We want to a make a difference, just as Jenny did.

We hope that you will join us in this very empowering event and “Stop the Silence of Domestic Violence”!