We know that 2020 has been quite a year. Survivors may have felt heightened stress responses from these events. The stress of the year makes coping strategies even more important than ever before. One strategy we have found helpful this year is a gratitude journal. While it has been a tough year, there is so much TAOS is grateful for. Below are just a few things we are grateful for:
1. REACHED MORE SURVIVORS
We are reaching approximately 2,650 people a day through our website! Additionally, we have been able to create and share print and digital resources, social media posts on mental health tips, Spotify playlists for healing, virtual screenings and panel discussions to educate communities on abuse, and connecting with survivors individually. We are proud of the new resources we developed for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, children, and survivors figuring out their options after abuse.
A few other notable accomplishments
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- TAOS volunteers have logged over 4,565 hours to build the organization’s foundation since we began
- We have printed and distributed over 3,000 resources to survivors across the country
- We have reached over 600 people who have attended live panel discussions (with even more watching recordings after)
- TAOS has developed partnerships with 15 national organizations
- We have worked with eight campus ambassadors at five different colleges to share our mission to students and survivors
- We certified 21 people in Mental Health First Aid
2. RECEIVED OUR 501C3 STATUS.
We were officially approved by the IRS as a not-for-profit! This allows us to expand our work and support more child athletes. It also means your donation is tax-deductible to the extent the law allows. Please contact your financial advisor for additional information.
3. HONORED A GRANT OPPORTUNITY.
We are very excited to announce that TAOS was busy writing for grants this year and we were recently approved for a two-year core support grant. This grant will allow us to hire full-time paid staff to oversee operations and better support our volunteer efforts. It will also provide funding to improve survivor resources, including outreach by survivors with firsthand knowledge of abuse. However, this grant will not cover all of our expenses. We still need generous donations to advocate for child athletes at the local, state, national, and international levels and to build our capacity with additional programming.
4. WE’RE SUPPORTED BY YOU!
We could not have gotten to this place without your support. Our second annual more than a medal virtual 5K was a huge success. We had 69 people participate and raised over $2,800. We also enjoyed hosting the Friday Night Dance Party, movie screenings and panels, Mental Health First Aid, and other events to share our mission. Lastly, thank you for following, liking, and sharing our social media content! We had 19,000 engagements on Instagram, 5,000 engagements on Facebook, and 2,600 engagements on Twitter. Thank you for sharing our important work!
OUR WORK ISN’T OVER.
This Giving Tuesday, we ask that you help us continue the work that we are doing to #ProtectChildAthletes in sport. The following are a few ways you can continue to support us in our mission to raise awareness, accountability, and transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels:
- Give to #ProtectChildAthletes from abuse through our crowdfunding page
- Raise money for The Army of Survivors through our crowdfunding page by sharing with family and friends
- Sign up to contribute to TAOS by shopping with Amazon Smile
- Post an unselfie telling your friends why you support us (An unselfie is just like a selfie, but with a generous twist. Take a photo of yourself holding a sign that tells your followers who you’re supporting for #GivingTuesday and why.)
To learn more about what we’ve done this year, check out our annual report.
