BRONX, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, December 1, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Everyone knows how tough it is to be a teenager these days. For every romantic prom dance and homecoming dress, there’s soul-searching angst and raging hormones. There’s the social media swirl of Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, where the virtual equivalent of mass cyberdiaries are shared. But adolescence has a dark side. What if you’re a teenage girl, 14 to 19 years of age, and you have a secret? Other girls your age are envisioning futures that seem to be made out of cotton candy dreams and Facebook fantasy, where every hope and ideal is posted online for everyone to see. But what if your life is a tangled web of hidden pain, self-hatred, and an overpowering sense of blame because you’re a victim of female sexual abuse and you’re convinced that it’s your own fault? Where does that girl turn to find healing in her broken world?

Sara Martinez wants that girl to turn to Girl Courage NYC, a nonprofit organization whose mission addresses the behavioral patterns of teenage victims of sexual abuse to help them process their traumatic memories, overcome problematic behaviors, and develop effective coping skills. With the aid of Indiegogo, Martinez has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $18,000 by December 24 to kick off the organization’s 12-week program.

Girl Courage NYC crowdfunding

Crowdfunding income will pay for a 12-week private self-defense course with the acclaimed Krag Maga school; a 12-week yoga program; and marketing materials aimed at the education of victims and the broader community to raise consciousness about sexual abuse and Girl Courage NYC’s holistic approach to the problem. The money that’s raised will be used to cover, in addition to the program expenses and marketing and branding campaigns, the cost of location rental, website and social media development, merchandise, and more.

Girl Courage NYC founder Sara Martinez is a Bronx girl, one of a family of five children, who grew up with big dreams and a desire to give back to society. She has become the voice for a generation of teens growing up in single-parent homes, many of which have been the setting for domestic violence and sexual abuse. Martinez formed Girl Courage NYC after writing a fiction trilogy, Tess’ Testimony, the story of a girl who saw her mother rendered powerless and her own life betrayed by her father’s abuse and domination. The author brings insight and sensitivity to a haunting social problem that remained concealed for far too long, until finally the cries of its victims could no longer be silenced.

The statistics validate the need for a solution to this cultural dilemma. Girls between the ages of 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be a victim of attempted rape, rape, or sexual assault. Seven percent of the girls from the fifth grade to the eighth grade say that they’ve been sexually abused. Those number increase to 12% for girls in grades 9-12.

Girl Courage NYC nurtures the capacity of the victimized girls to heal themselves through Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), along with other holistic therapies that address trauma. By concentrating on qualities like kindness, self-respect, and self-acceptance, the girls achieve emotional, mental, and physical empowerment. Their wholeness is the result of uniting the positive traits that restore their self-esteem.

The self-actualization that is at the core of healing is accomplished through mentoring, self-defense programs, yoga, and theatrical self-expression including creative verbatim and documentary theatre performance. What makes Girl Courage NYC different is its focus on behavioral patterns to show girls how they can be the building blocks of their own destiny.
The girl who was once a victim is transformed into a girl who is ready to take control of her own life.

If you would like to provide financial support for the first phase of the “I am a Girl with Courage” campaign, your generosity will make the organization’s slogan come true. Help (GIRL) Courage NYC in its goal: Restoring Girls Through Courage One Day at a Time.

About Girl Courage NYC
Girl Courage NYC (www.girlcouragenyc.org), a nonprofit organization that provides support and healing for teenage victims of sexual abuse, uses an holistic approach to help female victims heal themselves through Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy (TF-CBT). By concentrating on nurturing characteristics such as kindness, self respect and self acceptance, the girls learn how to lead productive lives based on empowerment through effective coping skills and taking control of their own lives.

Sara Martinez
Girl Courage NYC
www.girlcouragenyc.org
email us here

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