Some people have asked me why I chose to participate in Giving Tuesday 2024 on behalf of First Light. Aside from wanting to support their mission, I also wanted to spread awareness about the effects of child abuse and sexual assault on our community. The CDC says that more than 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 4 men will be the victim of a sexual assault involving physical contact at some point in their lives. If those statistics are right, that means there are 82,349 survivors in Anderson and Oconee counties alone. I am not ok with those statistics and, frankly, the price of inaction is simply too high. Our children and our community deserve better. If left untreated, sexual assault and child abuse are shown to have a huge impact on a survivor’s lifelong health and wellbeing. Exposure to violence, particularly in childhood, increases the risks of injury, future violence victimization and perpetration, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, delayed brain development, reproductive health problems, involvement in sex trafficking, non-communicable diseases, lower educational attainment, and limited employment opportunities. First Light does its best, but they can’t tackle all these problems without our help. This is why First Light is encouraging participants to take small steps to make a big impact this Giving Tuesday. If we work together, we can reach more survivors in need and build a stronger community in the process. Please consider donating to my #GivingTuesday campaign