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 drop zones across the country who will take to the sky and jump. Their goal: to raise funds to help survivors throughout the healing process and increase awareness about sexual assault.
The FBI categorizes rape as the second most violent crime a person can experience, second only to murder. To put it another way, it’s the most violent and traumatic crime any victim lives to remember. Every two minutes, another American is sexually assaulted. It is the most under-reported of all crimes in the United States.
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; and
Educate lawmakers, police officers, students, the public, and the media about sexual assault.
This will be my sixth year raising money for Operation Freefall and my fifth skydive. But, I can't do it without your help! I've agreed to raise at least $1,000 before April 1, 2010. I hope that you'll make a tax-deductible donation towards my goal.
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.
If you need more information or want to participate yourself, please go to Operation Freefall's website at www.operationfreefall.com or send me an email at tjwesson@yahoo.com.
Blue Skies!
Shannon