2014 Inaugural INSPIRE Ball
The 2014 Inaugural INSPIRE Ball was an evening of inspiration, empowering community members to come together to be the voice for child victims of sexual assault. Alicia's inspiration to dance for a purpose brought community members together to help in Team Alicia's mission to help children overcome their assault and become survivors themselves. The INSPIRE Ball raised over $9,000 for the counseling of child victims at the Children's Assessment Center. Now, nine more kids can get the help they need to become a survivor!
The photos from the Ball are on this website.
Thank you for supporting our cause!
Alicia's Speech:
I just want to start off by saying this isn't just about my story, this is about every victim’s story.
She was 8 years old when her cousin came into her room for the first time.
He was 9 years old when his babysitter didn't want to just play anymore.
She was 12 when her step brother told her it was a secret.
She was 16 when her boyfriend got drunk.
I was 11 when sleeping wasn't really sleeping anymore.
He was drunk. My parents were in the other room. His son was asleep next to me. He thought I was sleeping. I was confused. I felt betrayed. I was no longer the young girl I was before. I felt dirty. I was shocked into silence.
A child’s secrets range just as the shades of the rainbow. The secrets of middle school, the sacred information of who likes whom. The secrets of highschool, of what your prom dress is going to look like. And then there’s the deepest secrets. The secret that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys share. 1 in 8 of those girls and 1 in 12 those boys wouldn't have had to grow up so soon if alcohol wasn't in the picture. Their secret is the most dehumanizing, violating and betraying feeling imaginable. Feeling alone. Feeling scared. Feeling small. Feeling stark...white...transparent. A feeling...a secret, like no other.
Telling that secret is next to impossible. Its one of the hardest things for a child to have to do.
She was too afraid.
He was told everyone did it.
She tried, but no one believed her.
She was said to have put herself out there.
I was lucky.
I wanted to be strong enough. Strong enough for my family. Strong enough for me. Strong enough for his daughter. She was practically my sister, and sisters don’t take each other’s dads away.
It was almost a year before I told...and even then it wasn't the right person. 3 months later my mom and I had gotten into an argument, her finally digging out the truth behind my distance. She found the Children’s Assessment Center. I was finally able to share my story. I smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in a year.
Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens. Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe in all the reasons it will. The first step is to say you can.
Places like the center allow children to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That someday it will be OK. That they don’t have to be afraid anymore. They help give you the strength to go from being a victim to a survivor. And my goal is to let victims know that they have a voice. That they do matter enough to be heard. That they aren't alone. That there is someone who is willing to listen. Because when everything goes wrong and things seem to fall apart, when nobody believes in you and you feel alone and stranded; that's EXACTLY the moment you have to believe in yourself. To get up when you are down, to fight more intensely when you are struggling; to put in the extra effort when you are in sheer pain, to come back when nobody expects you to, and stand tall when everyone is pulling you down, that’s what is going to make you a survivor. “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” (Psalm 3:6)
She hasn't told her story in decades.
He finally got the help he needed.
She still struggles to become a survivor, all on her own.
She raised him on a single salary.
I forgave him...twice...and now I am an advocate for those of us who don’t have a voice.
We learn something from everyone who passes through our lives. Some lessons are painful; others painless; but all are priceless. You have to fight through the bad days in order to earn the best days. The struggle in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.
“Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) If you believe in yourself you can move mountains. Sharing your nightmare alone is moving a mountain. Its going to get harder before it gets easier. God gave you this life because you were strong enough to live it. What lies behind you and what lies before you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you.
If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes. Only then would you realize how special you are. You are essential. All your fears are limiting your potential. Its time to step into the light and use every ounce of power you have inside. You have to hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain, because most of life’s lessons are taught through pain. Don’t quit. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a survivor. Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.
I decided I wanted to give back. Not just because the Center helped me become a survivor, but also because they helped my family have peace of mind. I wanted to get my story out there. And after a dear friend poured her heart out on my shoulder, thanking me for being strong enough to share my story when she was never strong enough to share hers, I felt empowered and had a new drive to tell my story to as many people who would listen. I was able to get where I am today, because my story was believed. Unfortunately, most kids aren't as lucky as I was. My goal is to empower kids like me to share their story. Together we can become survivors. Together we can inspire trust, hope and freedom. Together we can save lives. Together we can change the world. And together we can move mountains.
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. Every great story on the planet happened when someone decided not to give up, but kept going no matter what. “And Jesus said to them, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’” (Mark 9:23)
Just remember, it always seems impossible until it is done.
And now I want everyone who works or has worked with the Children’s Assessment Center to stand and be recognized for the miracles that you enact every day.
I just want to start off by saying this isn't just about my story, this is about every victim’s story.
She was 8 years old when her cousin came into her room for the first time.
He was 9 years old when his babysitter didn't want to just play anymore.
She was 12 when her step brother told her it was a secret.
She was 16 when her boyfriend got drunk.
I was 11 when sleeping wasn't really sleeping anymore.
He was drunk. My parents were in the other room. His son was asleep next to me. He thought I was sleeping. I was confused. I felt betrayed. I was no longer the young girl I was before. I felt dirty. I was shocked into silence.
A child’s secrets range just as the shades of the rainbow. The secrets of middle school, the sacred information of who likes whom. The secrets of highschool, of what your prom dress is going to look like. And then there’s the deepest secrets. The secret that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys share. 1 in 8 of those girls and 1 in 12 those boys wouldn't have had to grow up so soon if alcohol wasn't in the picture. Their secret is the most dehumanizing, violating and betraying feeling imaginable. Feeling alone. Feeling scared. Feeling small. Feeling stark...white...transparent. A feeling...a secret, like no other.
Telling that secret is next to impossible. Its one of the hardest things for a child to have to do.
She was too afraid.
He was told everyone did it.
She tried, but no one believed her.
She was said to have put herself out there.
I was lucky.
I wanted to be strong enough. Strong enough for my family. Strong enough for me. Strong enough for his daughter. She was practically my sister, and sisters don’t take each other’s dads away.
It was almost a year before I told...and even then it wasn't the right person. 3 months later my mom and I had gotten into an argument, her finally digging out the truth behind my distance. She found the Children’s Assessment Center. I was finally able to share my story. I smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in a year.
Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens. Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe in all the reasons it will. The first step is to say you can.
Places like the center allow children to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That someday it will be OK. That they don’t have to be afraid anymore. They help give you the strength to go from being a victim to a survivor. And my goal is to let victims know that they have a voice. That they do matter enough to be heard. That they aren't alone. That there is someone who is willing to listen. Because when everything goes wrong and things seem to fall apart, when nobody believes in you and you feel alone and stranded; that's EXACTLY the moment you have to believe in yourself. To get up when you are down, to fight more intensely when you are struggling; to put in the extra effort when you are in sheer pain, to come back when nobody expects you to, and stand tall when everyone is pulling you down, that’s what is going to make you a survivor. “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” (Psalm 3:6)
She hasn't told her story in decades.
He finally got the help he needed.
She still struggles to become a survivor, all on her own.
She raised him on a single salary.
I forgave him...twice...and now I am an advocate for those of us who don’t have a voice.
We learn something from everyone who passes through our lives. Some lessons are painful; others painless; but all are priceless. You have to fight through the bad days in order to earn the best days. The struggle in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.
“Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) If you believe in yourself you can move mountains. Sharing your nightmare alone is moving a mountain. Its going to get harder before it gets easier. God gave you this life because you were strong enough to live it. What lies behind you and what lies before you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you.
If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes. Only then would you realize how special you are. You are essential. All your fears are limiting your potential. Its time to step into the light and use every ounce of power you have inside. You have to hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain, because most of life’s lessons are taught through pain. Don’t quit. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a survivor. Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.
I decided I wanted to give back. Not just because the Center helped me become a survivor, but also because they helped my family have peace of mind. I wanted to get my story out there. And after a dear friend poured her heart out on my shoulder, thanking me for being strong enough to share my story when she was never strong enough to share hers, I felt empowered and had a new drive to tell my story to as many people who would listen. I was able to get where I am today, because my story was believed. Unfortunately, most kids aren't as lucky as I was. My goal is to empower kids like me to share their story. Together we can become survivors. Together we can inspire trust, hope and freedom. Together we can save lives. Together we can change the world. And together we can move mountains.
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. Every great story on the planet happened when someone decided not to give up, but kept going no matter what. “And Jesus said to them, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’” (Mark 9:23)
Just remember, it always seems impossible until it is done.
And now I want everyone who works or has worked with the Children’s Assessment Center to stand and be recognized for the miracles that you enact every day.