The Alpha Beta Psi sorority at Longwood University and the Farmville Police Department have collaborated with Roanoke Police to introduce a new chapter of Help Save the Next Girl to Prince Edward and Farmville.

The mission of the organization is to stand against predators and violent acts geared towards women.

According to Jane Lillian Vance, the vice president of the new organization, the group is “the most prominent voice in America for awakening the public about predatory danger and for reinvigorating the community and waking up people before they are vulnerable.”

The first chapter of Help Save the Next Girl was formed at Virginia Tech to create a positive legacy for Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington who was found dead near Charlottesville in early 2010.

“I work closely with founder and President Gil Harrington, whose daughter, Morgan, in the last spring of her life [in] 2009, was my star student in a humanities course I offered at Virginia Tech,” Vance said. “When she was 20 years old, Morgan was abducted from just outside the John Paul Jones Arena at UVA. She was raped and murdered, and her remains were discovered 101 days later, where she had been dumped in a rural fallow hayfield in Albemarle County,” she said.

Vance said that Farmville Police Officer Christie Mouser reached out to her and was instrumental in bringing the new chapter to Farmville. “Help Save the Next Girl continually develops vital relationships with media and law enforcement,” Mouser said.  “These connections enhance its ability to quickly disseminate urgent information, such as about a missing person. Help Save the Next Girl also provides outreach support to victims’ families,” she said.

“We have about three dozen chapters nationally in middle schools, high schools, colleges/universities and now with Farmville, an exciting community hybrid chapter,” Vance said.

As a new campus sorority, Alpha Beta Psi took the opportunity to collaborate with the local police department and support a powerful cause.

“As a group of women who support bringing an end to domestic violence, we were overly excited about the opportunity,” said Keya Jackson, the vice president and chaplain of Alpha Beta Psi.

“Our sorority is a local sorority that formed within Farmville. We not only advocate for what we stand for, but also we stand for our community so joining forces with our local police department to bring attention to something so prevalent was an amazing opportunity that we could not pass up. We look forward to working with not only the police department but our community to help save the next girl.”

To learn more about Help Save the Next Girl, contact Mouser at (434) 392-3332 or visit www.helpsavethenextgirl.com.