This sad statistic includes an average of 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys. The founders of Younique formed a foundation called Saprea- both for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and also for community awareness and education.
The definition is on their website:
Saprea exists to liberate individuals and society from child sexual abuse and its lasting impacts. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, funded by a combination of public and private donations. Saprea’s offices are located in Lehi, Utah, and Alpharetta, Georgia.
- Saprea empowers healing for individuals who were sexually abused as children or adolescents through retreats, support groups, healing webinars, and online resources.
- Saprea educates and engages parents and caregivers to protect children from sexual abuse through community and online resources.
- Saprea drives awareness to motivate individuals to take action against child sexual abuse.
They offer retreats, educational resources, and therapeutic support to help survivors overcome the trauma of their past experiences.
Many of these survivors have felt guilt and shame for years before they are able to attend something like this. They learn all kinds of healing and empowering activities they can continue in their everyday lives. There is a beautiful symbolic activity that they also do during their stay called Kintsugi, which is taking a piece of pottery they’ve chosen themselves then breaking it and repairing it with gold lacquer. They talk about how there is still beauty in brokenness and how to get past “wrong truths”, things we tell ourselves that aren’t real.
The retreat is also free, thanks to many forms of donations and fundraising. All these participants have to do is get themselves to and from Utah or Georgia and the foundation takes care of the rest. If you are having any thoughts about going, you can read more from my friend Lala on her blog that she wrote about attending the Haven retreat. My favorite part from her post was when she answers the question, Is it worth it?
YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES. It is TOTALLY worth coming to Utah. I understand flights are not cheap and that many women have to find babysitting and that it’s practically a week off of work, but YOU are totally worth it. YOUR healing, YOUR life, YOUR sanity, YOU ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT. The women that did come from out of state gave it a resounding yes as well. They all agreed that it was totally worth flying to Utah for.
Aunty Lala’s blog (With permission. No longer published)
#healtheone #reclaimhope
Saprea also educates to bring awareness to childhood sexual abuse. They offer classes to schools and communities to help teachers and parents the signs to look for and ways to talk to children about this issue. This is something that anyone can be trained on and do in their own communities as well.
At our 2016 convention, we participated in a World Record for the most simultaneous selfies, this helped with awareness and getting the word out about this topic which was trending on Twitter and Instagram. #defendthemany #startdefending
Ways you can help Saprea
As part of the 2023 Younique global and 10th-anniversary convention in Salt Lake City, I will be participating in the BREAK THE SILENCE BENEFIT RUN FOR SAPREA RACE 5k/10k. There is both an in-person and virtual option to help out with this cause.
Here’s the race website/fundraiser: Saprea 10-year 10k
Also, at check out on my Younique website, you have the option to “round up” to the nearest dollar on any purchase, which also goes directly to fund the retreat for women. The average amount rounded up during a purchase is $.19 but that adds up to close to $40,000 a month that goes directly toward the Haven retreat for women (2016 Convention stats)
Shop here and make sure to round up: www.youniqueproducts.com/linds
By supporting Saprea, you can make a positive impact on the lives of survivors of childhood sexual abuse and help them on their journey to healing and recovery.
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