MICHIGAN
Some people run marathons or sell pizzas to raise money for a good cause, but prenursing freshman Rene Rodriguez seized the chance to jump out of a plane.
Rodriguez is participating in Operation Freefall, a national program to raise awareness about sexual assault.
The program raises money for two national organizations created to raise awareness about sexual assaults: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and Speaking Out About Rape.
"Sexual assault is one of the most common things that goes unreported," Rodriguez said.
Without clear awareness and resources out there, sexual assault victims will not get the help they need, she said.
More than 250 people across the nation will be jumping out of planes for Operation Freefall on Saturday, said Kellie Greene, the founder of Speaking Out About Rape.
She said she came up with the event as a way to reclaim a day that had become marked by her own tragedy.
It falls on the anniversary of the day she was raped and it takes something extreme like skydiving to counteract the consequences, she said.
"It's no longer the day I was raped, it's the day I went skydiving," Greene said.
Issues surrounding sexual assault need attention and a bold statement is made by skydiving, Greene said.
"When people are throwing themselves out of a perfectly good airplane, people are going to take notice and say 'Wow they must really believe in what they're doing,'" she said.
Even though she is afraid of heights, Rodriguez said she wanted to do something to help.
She heard about the event through Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention, an MSU sexual assault awareness group, and decided to create a Web site asking her friends and family for help in raising money, she said.
