elionwyr | Entries tagged with operation freefall

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On April 25th, many of us across the country will be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to raise money for RAINN and SOAR, two wonderful organizations that help survivors of 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 underreported of all crimes in the United States. The effects of sexual violence affect all of us." - Operation Freefall

With all y'all helping, the Flying Squirrel Division of Operation Freefall (

mewschangeling,

schmidtybooger, and I) has raised...wait for it..about $2000! That's absolutely amazing!!!!! Thank you so so much.

If you are still wanting to show your financial support for our madness,

schmidtybooger still needs about $80 to reach her target goal of $600. I know a few of you wanted to sponsor me; while I will happily take your money (*grin*!), I'm asking that you consider sponsoring her, instead. Her page is here. :)

You are all awesome and you TOTALLY rock my socks off.

Bostonians:
If you'd like to show support for something a little more local, my beloved

shadesong has decided to participate in the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center's Walk for Change on April 5th.

In 'Song's words:

As many of you know, BARCC is a hugely important part of my world. The work they do is so very needed, and they are so very committed and passionate. BARCC runs mostly on volunteers - over a hundred of us take hotline calls, accompany survivors to the hospital, do legal advocacy, give survivor speeches, and do community outreach and prevention. BARCC is the second oldest rape crisis center in the country, and one of the biggest.

We do good and necessary work.

This work costs money.

Please sponsor me!

On April 25th, I will be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to help raise money for SOAR and RAINN, two organizations that work to help support survivors of sexual abuse.

My fundraising link is here.

Additionally, a few other AMAZING women are jumping and giving me the blame - er, credit for deciding to do so!

Mewschangeling is one of them.

Schmidtybooger is another.

Please visit those links and if you can sponsor them, that would be awesome. :)

Annnnnd..because there are more than a few of us jumping, I starting calling this the Flying Squirrel Division.

And, lo!

T-shirts! Coffee cups! Thongs! You can haz.

(With much amazed thanks to

briansiano for enabling the madness.)
(prices marked up by $1 - all proceeds will go to Operation Freefall)

Current Mood: amused

On April 25, I will be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to raise money for SOAR and RAINN.

And I've apparently helped talk a few more people into jumping, too! They both signed up on Jan 30th.

Fellow Castle Blood cast member

mewschangeling's post about her jump is here. She's hit just over $200 - woo, airborne haunters!!

schmidtybooger's post about her jump is here. She's already up to $345 - woo!!! Over half way there!

If you'd like to support this fundraiser, I ask you consider donating to one of these two AMAZING ladies rather than me, as I've raised more than I ever thought possible, and spreading the support = win!

Rape is more than a violent act.

It is an act of violence that steals your sense of safety, and it takes away your comfort with Self.

Robin McKinley wrote a book, Deerskin, that describes in stark prose what that experience can be like.

Her fingers crawled upward and touched the outer curve of her breast, and the fingers paused, quaking in fear; but after a moment, despite the panic trying to break out of its shadows and seize her mind, she told her fingers, Go on. This is my body. I reclaim my own body for myself: for my use, for my understanding, for my kindness and care. Go on. And the fingers walked cautiously on....

Lisar struggles, as so many struggle, to heal on her own.

Organizations such as RAINN and SOAR exist to help survivors of sexual assault with that healing. They provide supportive services, they provide events such as SOAR SPA to help survivors and their families work towards healing.

Money raised by Operation Freefall has a direct, powerful effect on the lives of these survivors.

On April 25, I will be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane for charity. If you'd like to sponsor me, click here. My initial goal has been reached, thanks to you amazing people - with your help, I've raised over $700! - but I will continue to see if I can hit the $1K mark.

However...on April 25,

mewschangeling will be jumping with me - because she is also awesome - and if you'd like to help her get to her $600 mark, click on the button below.

And thank you. Thank you for caring, thank you for supporting, thank you for giving money to this fundraising effort.

Each and every one of you that has done so is incredible. Don't ever forget that.

I was talking to someone that is starting to live more and more in my heart, and I mentioned the idea of carrying tokens from people when I jump out of a perfectly good airplane. (I love the idea, I love the concept of jumping with items from friends and loved ones with me, and if you'd like to be a part of this, let me know.)

Today, I received this as a token from her and her fiance'. It is an absolutely perfect symbol, and I will be honoured to wear it.

*strokes the wolf paw gently*

On April 25th, I will be participating in Operation Freefall, a fundraiser dedicated to helping survivors of sexual violence.

Please consider sponsoring me.

(Thank you!)

Sexual violence is a secret we don't keep as well as we intend.

The act changes you. It changes you in ways you may not see, it leaves an imprint you might not expect.

Several years ago, I wrote a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty". My focus was on the curse itself.

When my then-husband read the story, he said in a careful voice, "You wrote this about your rape."

You don't always realize how your history bleeds through to your present.

On April 25th, I am jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to help raise money for SOAR and RAINN, organizations dedicated to helping the survivors of sexual assault.

Please consider sponsoring me, by clicking the button below.

Thank you!

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.

That is a horribly sobering quote.

Here's another one for you.

"Every girl I've ever dated has been raped."

That quote was told to me personally.

On April 25th, I will be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to raise money for SOAR, an organization that provides support for survivors of sexual violence as well as people who work with these survivors. It's a pretty amazing organization.

I'm jumping for myself.
I'm jumping for friends and loved ones.
I'm jumping for strangers.
I'm jumping because I did not seek counseling or support 22 years ago, and I believe wholeheartedly that if I had, I wouldn't have spent as many years wrestling with the aftereffects of my experience.

Please consider sponsoring me.

I'm already at 30% of my fundraising goal. Thank you, HUGE thank you, to those who have donated, and to those who are planning to!

I stopped by Ex Landlady's on the way home tonight.

"What's new since the last time I saw you?" she asked.

"Not much." I paused, and started laughing. "Well. I've decided I'm going to jump out of a plane in April."

She stared. "I always knew you were crazy." *pause* "Ok, I thought you had a LITTLE more sense than that.."

I couldn't stop smiling. I explained about Operation Freefall and SOAR. She nodded. "Get me the paperwork, and I'll sponsor you." She shook her head. "And we'll put you on the prayer list in April..." Apparently my smile was contagious, because she started smiling, then laughed and hugged me.

Today has been absolutely terrifying. I emailed my beloved Story that telling my tale made me feel like I'd already jumped. Truth be told, I spent the day at work freezing from within. The story is from so far in my past, it happened to a version of me that is not me today, and yet it is lodged deep within me, mostly-secret. Until now.

And you have all been wonderful - your responses have been so loving. Thank you. Those words aren't enough. Thank you. And thank you for sharing your love rituals! That has been an awesome read. (More, please!)

I am going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane in April.

And I am SO. EXCITED!!!

On April 25th, I will be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to raise money for SOAR, a rather wonderful organization dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault.

Operation Freefall is a radical fundraising effort that happens simultaneously in varied cities across the US on the last Saturday of every April. In the past eight years, Operation Freefall has raised over $1,000,000 with nearly two-thirds of that going back to local community organizations.

So. Radical = win.

Why am I doing this?

Most personally, I was date raped when I was 16. As a result, I literally lost about a year out of my life. I have a remarkably good memory, and I can remember very little about my senior year of high school. Most of what I *can* remember, I wish I could forget. I turned 17, I graduated, and I pretty much ran away from home all within a week...I fled to Philadelphia, to my mother's arms. And it took a few more years before I was really able to get a grip on all the after-effects of that rape.

To quote the Operation Freefall website:
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 underreported of all crimes in the United States. The effects of sexual violence affect all of us.

I am jumping out of a perfectly good plane in part because I want to do something radical for the child I once was. I am alive. I am alive despite my conviction for years that I shouldn't be, that rape doesn't happen to smart girls.

Also, I made a promise to

shadesong two years ago that I would do this. :)

So.
I need to raise $1000 by April 1st.
Please consider sponsoring me by visiting this link.

And thank you so much.