Events_Evening_Of_Hope_25 — Courageous Survivors

EVENING OF HOPE 2025

On 23 October, we held our fourth annual gala

We welcomed 75 guests …

We were blessed with a perfect October Scottsdale evening - the atmosphere was absolutely perfect with the lighting and the red and gold table arrangements.

Our guests enjoyed dinner from Joe’s Real BBQ - a lovely mix of salads, barbecue meats and sides.

The host for the evening - Josh Nisbet - did a great job of keepng everyone focused on the Silent Auction. This year we had seventeen really fantastic items with bidding opening a couple of days before the event. There was interest in all of the auction items and most of the guests (and a few people not at the gala) watchng their favorite items and placing bids.

The Evening of Hope is one of Courageous Survivors’ main fundraising opportunities and between the Silent Auction and the Sponsor a Survivor we raised just over $5000. We express our thanks to everyone who bid in the auction or donated directly.

Janet Bentley opened the program part of the evening …

“Welcome to our 4th Annual Evening of Hope

Thank you all for being here and supporting Courageous Survivors. So, what is this evening for? It is an opportunity to come together and recognize the courage of survivors and the incredible people who support them every day.

To survivors, your presence here today takes a lot of courage, and I truly appreciate you. To our supporters, your dedication to understanding and supporting survivors is incredibly valuable. Thank you.

Before we start tonight’s program, I want to share the story of Courageous Survivors. As a child who experienced sexual abuse, I spent many years feeling alone, broken, and hopeless. I was searching for something that would help me feel worthy and loved. This search took me to some very dark places, including addiction and suicide attempts. I never believed I would find the love I was looking for. The ironic thing is that what I was looking for was with me all along - it was me.

In 2014, as an adult, after so many years and attempts to heal, I found the help I had been searching for. I spent 45 days at The Meadows Treatment Center in Wickenburg, AZ.

In 2017, I started individual trauma therapy, which I continue today.

I’ve been truly blessed to experience so much healing.

In early 2020, I was the victim of a traumatic home invasion that resulted in a brutal rape. Because of my personal healing up to that time, I was able to ask for help from my therapist, friends, and the police, and in doing so, I felt empowered and supported. This inspired me to share that experience of support and empowerment with others. In December 2020, Courageous Survivors was born from that motivation.

Reclaiming hope after sexual trauma is a journey that takes incredible strength and resilience. It takes great bravery to confront and process the trauma. The courage shown by those who are healing often encourages others facing similar challenges to seek help and start their own healing journey.

I’m so blessed to be proof that hope and healing are possible after sexual trauma. I never imagined I could find moments of peace, but I do now. I dream that every survivor experiences that same hope, healing, and peace. To the courageous survivors here tonight, look around—you are not alone. You deserve love, peace, and happiness.

Courageous Survivors has had a great year advancing our Mission of supporting adult survivors of sexual trauma.

Our virtual support groups for women are doing great and growing!

In some exciting news, we have teamed up with Meadows Behavioral Health Alumni to add more support groups, and we’re working together to start our first support group for men, something that is so desperately needed and underserved in this and most communities. We’re aiming to get that group up and running before the holidays. (Aleah Johnson, Vice President of Meadows Alumni, is here tonight – a special thank you to her!)

In August, Simon and I attended the National Sexual Assault Conference in Anaheim, CA. We spoke with hundreds of survivors and made relationships with many other organizations with similar missions to ours.

On our website, we’ve created a safe space for survivors to share their writing, artwork, and connect with others.

We have a Virtual Wall where you can place a plaque reflecting on those affected by sexual trauma, whether that is yourself or someone you care about.

We provide scholarships to survivors so that they can access various counseling and healing programs.

Also our shop has been refreshed, and is up, and running with new t-shirts and other Courageous Survivors merchandise. I hope you will visit the shop and check it out.

We are here for survivors, and we wouldn’t be able to do any of these things without the support of everyone here tonight and the contributions of our kind donors.

It’s so heartwarming for me to see familiar and new faces here. Many of you have been with me since the beginning of my healing journey, and I truly appreciate the kindness and support you've shown by being here tonight.

I have a few thank yous. I am sure you have noticed the beautiful flower arrangements on the tables. These were donated by Robert Hudachek, owner of Flora Bella here in Scottsdale. Thank you, DeeDee, for arranging this donation!

I want to give a very special thank you to Nicole and Josh for letting us use their lovely home as a venue for tonight. I love and appreciate you both!

Also, thank you to the following people whose support has been vital to Courageous Survivors’ success. I’m so grateful to all of you: Simon Bentley, Josh Nisbet, Aleah Johnson, and our Board of Directors, Nicole Cardon, Megan Williams, Anne McQuaid, and Shelby Raabe.

Please enjoy this evening, have fun with the silent auction, enjoy your dinner, and when you leave, be sure to pick up a gift from the table.”

Our keynote speaker, Vita Galore …

Board member Nicole Cardon introduced out keynote speaker.

Vita Galore began her life as the lovechild of an absent American father and an impoverished Peruvian mother, enduring a childhood defined by abuse and neglect. Yet she has persevered in being, doing, and having everything she dreams of, leading her to inspire others down their own paths of fulfillment.

In a vulnerable and, at times, emotional address, she shared the harrowing abuse that shadowed herself and her family. As a victim of familial trafficking, Vita had to work through the challenges brought about by the various traumas that defined her childhood.

Vita concluded her address by sharing the most important thing she has learned on her journey - that forgiveness freed her from the legacy of pain, anger and resentment. Finding this allowed her to start a new of emotional healing and a better quality of life.

Vita’s address will be remembered by all who were at the gala. Her vulnerability and openness about her experiences and dealing with the legacy of trauma was a lesson of hope for all survivors.

Bringing our evening to a close …

Janet thanked everyone for their tremndous support and our 4th Evening of Hope came to a close.

Thanks to the generosity of our guests and our incredible supporters who got involved from afar, we raised just over $5000.

Evening of Hope 25 and the incredible support we receive will allow Courageous Survivor to continue our work to help survivors on their path to peace.