A free 5K is being sponsored by BYU Women’s Services at the Richards Building quad on Oct. 19 at 8:30 a.m.
Voices of Courage, is a campaign designed to encourage individuals to speak out against sexual abuse, non violence and abuse prevention. The run is based on this campaign.
“The Voices of Courage campaign has been active for about four years, but it’s always a challenge to make people aware of the campaign,” said LaNae Valentine, Women’s Services director.
The campaign takes a very different approach to preventing abuse and violence by seeking to educate men and women to speak up against and be aware of abuse and how to prevent it.
Valentine hopes that Voices of Courage will ultimately “help others understand that everyone can do something by the things we do and say to communicate and that we will not tolerate any degree of disrespect in our culture.”
Ashleigh Adkins, Women’s Services office supervisor, wants all to understand “that when addressing abuse, it is absolutely any form of emotional, physical or mental abuse.”
Valentine described that holding the 5K fits in perfectly to the mission of the campaign.
“It is a great way to draw a crowd and educate those who come about the prevalence of abuse and the need for prevention,” she said.
Katie Bell, a senior studying psychology from Seattle and event planner for Women’s Services, mentioned, “Many people do want to help those affected, they just aren’t sure how. This campaign teaches people to start the push and get involved.”
The office hopes to draw in a large crowd to this annual event and make it a fun run/walk for all who participate. Registration is free, and the first 200 will receive a free T-shirt. To register, e-mail .
