HOPE member and Mary Kay representative Rachelle Larson proved that one person can contribute tremendously to teen dating violence awareness this past February when she inspired her community of Fallon, Nevada to tackle the issue.
Upon joining HOPE, Rachelle successfully urged her mayor to proclaim February Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and worked with Churchill County’s middle and high schools to educate students on teen dating violence. She also suggested plans to engage students and the community in teen dating violence prevention.
Rachelle’s own experiences with a difficult relationship inspired her to help others. Even though she is a single parent, she devotes much of her time to volunteering against domestic violence and encourages others to do the same by:
- Joining HOPE and becoming an activist in your community
- Collecting donations so neighbors can easily contribute to the cause
- Hosting a fundraising party
- Creating a Break the Cycle “club” in your community or school to raise awareness and promote change
Rachelle’s advice is not to become discouraged – even small steps to increase teen dating violence awareness can make a huge difference. If just one young person finds the information he or she needs to get out of an abusive relationship, all of the work is worth it.
-Published on April 8, 2010