The following is a guest post from athlete, advocate, author and fearless Joyful Heart supporter, Katie Hnida. If you—like we do—find yourself inspired by her story of healing, of overcoming fear and of finding her a way to support other survivors and stop the violence, we invite you to join us in turning towards the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse by becoming a member of the Joyful Revolution Athletic Club.

  Dear Hearts, 

Jump for Joy! Just the sound of the phrase makes my heart smile. My name is Katie Hnida and I am an athlete, advocate and author. I am also a sexual assault survivor. And, on April 28^th, I am jumping out of a perfectly functioning airplane. Why? During my first year of college, I was pursuing my dream to be the first woman to play Division One football. My life then turned upside down when I was raped by one of my teammates—a man I trusted and considered a friend. My sense of self was shattered. I felt helpless and ashamed. Worst of all, I felt completely alone.

The road to healing was difficult to travel. I dealt with severe depression, insomnia and PTSD. There were days when I couldn’t get out of bed and nights when I lay awake, overcome with nauseous memories of my assault. Slowly, I started to put my life back together. I found support in family, friends and a few great therapists. I returned back to the football field. And I discovered the Joyful Heart, way back when they were just a teeny start-up organization. But even at the beginning, I knew they were special.

I was welcomed into a community of support that told me all of the feelings I had were normal, even okay. The holistic nature of their programs fed my spirit and nurtured my heart.  As they have grown, they continue to be a life-changing, innovative, survivor first organization. I try to 

donate to the JHF every year, but like most people, my extra income is limited at best. So I decided that I would try to contribute in the form of a fundraiser.

I’d heard about an awesome organization, SOAR (Speaking Out Against Rape) for which people across the country skydive to raise funding and awareness about sexual assault. I worked it out with the team at SOAR so the JHF would get a portion of the proceeds from my fundraising. Then, I set-up an on-line donation site. And last but not least, I posted on Facebook, tweeted and emailed what I was doing, including information on the Joyful Heart Foundation, as well as my own story. That also gave me a chance to share statistics about the magnitude of sexual violence.

Even people who know me well were astonished at how high the numbers really are, illustrating the need to educate people that abuse is an issue that exists in all segments of society and to provide the tools that can help change the culture that allows this to happen. I’ve nick-named my jump "Jump for Joy" to honor the Joyful Heart Foundation, as well to celebrate the ongoing healing in my life. The road has been long and, at times, seems never ending—now is the time to jump forward, for myself and for us all.

With love,

Katie

You can check out Katie's Fundraiser here, where she has already raised over $2,600. Feeling inspired to start your own fundraiser for yourself and for Joyful Heart? You now can! You can create your own personal fundraising page directly through our new initiative, the Joyful Revolution Athletic Club.