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Lauren Book!
Seriously the sweetest person ever |
Ever since I read It's OK to Tell by Lauren Book, I
have been wanting to do a walk for child abuse.
This book is about Lauren and her story and I highly recommend it! Lauren is now an advocate for victims, goes
to different schools spreading awareness through education, and is the CEO and
founder of Lauren's Kids. Lauren's Kids
educates adults and children about sexual abuse prevention through in-school
curricula, awareness campaigns and speaking engagements around the country and
the world. Their mission is "To
prevent sexual abuse through education and awareness, and to help survivors
heal with guidance and support."
Each year, Lauren's Kids leads an annual, statewide "Walk in My
Shoes" awareness walk across the state of Florida--1,500 miles from Key
West to Tallahassee. This year the theme
was 'Hope and Healing'.
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| Melbourne walk with Macie |
This past
weekend I had the chance to do not one, but TWO of her walks! Each day we walked 4.2 miles to represent the
42 million survivors of sexual abuse. We
got shirts where we could write 'Why I walk' on them. I wrote "For me and my siblings" on
the first walk, Macie wrote, "To break the silence." On Saturday, Macie and I did the walk in
Melbourne. After the walk, there was a
buddy bash where kids can go to different stations to get educated, learn about
a buddy system, create t shirts, and so much more. B.A.C.A (Bikers Against Child Abuse) was
there supporting Lauren and all the survivors.
B.A.C.A is such a great organization.
I never really heard of them until I researched Lauren's Kids (Their
website is below). During this walk, I
facetimed my family because our walk in Ft Myers was cancelled...this way, they
were able to do some of the walk with me!
Also, I saw so many shirts that said "For my daughter",
"My mom", and "Myself and all survivors" and it made me realize
that I'm not alone.
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| Thankful to have her by my side through this |
My bestfriend Becca did the second walk in Orlando
with me. Even though we were dying about
halfway through, her support meant everything!
During this walk, I wrote on my shirt "I'm a survivor" and
Becca wrote "For my best friend."
The past few weeks have been really tough with just memories,
nightmares, flashbacks, and the day my dad was taken away, that it was important
for me to do the walk. I'm so glad that
Becca was able to do this with me because she has been there for me through
everything I've been dealing with lately. She's been my biggest support here at
college since Tiki went back to Oklahoma and words can't even describe how
thankful I am for our friendship. This
weekend was so empowering and I'm so glad I was able to be apart of the annual
Walk in My Shoes. Lauren is truly the
sweetest person and it's amazing how far she has come. I honestly can't wait for next year's walk!
"If you're choking back tears and your heart's
full of fears, you know very well it's OK to tell!"
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| Orlando part of the Hope and Healing tour |
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