On April 24, 2010 I will be participating in the nation’s boldest, highest-altitude, and most daring effort to put an end to sexual assault. It’s called Operation Freefall: The Two-Mile High Stand Against Sexual Assault®. I will join thousands of people at skydive centers across the country who will take to the sky and jump. Our goal: to raise funds to help survivors throughout the healing process and increase awareness about sexual violence.

The FBI categorizes rape as the second most violent crime a person can experience, second only to murder. Every two minutes, another American is sexually assaulted. It is the most under-reported of all crimes in the United States. 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be assaulted in their lifetime. 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of 12.

Operation Freefall is the only event of its kind to increase awareness of sexual violence. The event is held simultaneously across the country the last Saturday of each April. In the past nine years Operation Freefall has raised over $1,000,000,with nearly two-thirds of that going back to local community organizations to:

• Enhance local support and outreach services for survivors of sexual violence.
• Provide recovery, risk-reduction, and prosecution information to tens of millions of people, including many in your local community, each year.
• Help victims of sexual violence through the healing process.
• Educate lawmakers, police officers, students, the public, and the media about sexual assault.

Right about now you’re probably saying, “Laurie is afraid of heights!” You’re right, I am. I’ll be making a tandem skydive attached to a USPA licensed tandem master. If you don’t believe that I can do this, I will be happy to show you the DVD I will receive as a souvenir from my skydive.

The effects of sexual violence affect all of us. That is why I’ve committed myself to this event. I hope you’ll share in this incredible adventure by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Blue Skies!
Laurie

 

"You gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face. You must do that which we think we cannot."

Eleanor Roosevelt
1884-1962, Social Activist and First Lady of the United States