Olympian Aly Raisman Partners With Rancho Mirage-Based Nonprofit

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — Olympic gold-medalist Aly Raisman — the American gymnast who came forward in 2017 as one of the many victims sexually abused by former Olympic team physician Larry Nassar — has partnered with Rancho Mirage-based Barbara Sinatra Children's Center to launch FightChildAbuse.org's "Virtual Event Series" that aims to combat child abuse, it was announced Thursday.

Raisman is kicking off the first virtual event of the series for grades 4-6 at 10 a.m. (PST) December 17 on FightChildAbuse.org.

The 26-year-old retired professional athlete who was captain of both the 2012 "Fierce Five" and 2016 "Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams will share her own journey as a survivor and highlight the fightchildabuse.org tools and resources to help those in vulnerable situations.

“It’s critical that abuse awareness is discussed openly with children and as adults, it’s our responsibility to provide them with tools and strategies to recognize unsafe situations and encourage help-seeking behavior,” Raisman said. “During these especially challenging times, more kids find themselves at home, which isn’t always a safe environment. We need to empower them to use their voice and tell a trusted adult if they are being hurt, neglected or feel confused.”

The new virtual campaign brings child abuse prevention and awareness content to life by pairing those impacted by abuse with customized, interactive segments and animated conversations with characters from the "Fight Child Abuse" campaign. These real-life personalities will discuss ways to help recognize and respond to abuse.

"We will use this platform to drive the conversation about child abuse and raise awareness," said John Thoresen, director, and CEO of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation. "Given the increased vulnerability caused by the pandemic quarantine, we developed this resource to help protect and advocate for those in vulnerable situations."

The new campaign debuts as the country grapples with a potentially devastating second wave of the coronavirus. As winter forces more communities back into their homes, at-risk children become susceptible to being isolated with their abusers and cut off from teachers and other trusted adults in whom they might usually confide, according to Barbara Sinatra Children's Center officials.

In response, the center's newly debuted virtual speaker series will enable young people to discuss their experiences and emotions with those who can, simultaneously, provide guidance about seeking help, the officials said.

This virtual series event falls on the heels of BSCC’s $1.5 million campaign launched earlier this year, uniting the voices of Simone Biles, Al Roker, Tik Tok creators like Loren Gray and more to advocate for abuse survivors.

To learn more about the program, visit FightChildAbuse.org.

To register for the first virtual event in this series with Aly Raisman, visit FightChildAbuse.org/virtualseries.

This article originally appeared on the Palm Desert Patch