RISE News #1
Resources Information Socialization Education
Welcome to the first issue of RISE News! We hope by way of this newsletter to keep you informed of the latest developments and announcements from all of us working at RISE.
RISE International is a Community Interest Company that was formed on June 1, 2007 shortly before the book release of ‘Not Without My Sister’ (available on amazon.co.uk). RISE International works to protect children from abuse in cults. We advocate for children’s human rights and support those who seek justice for crimes committed against them as minors in these groups.
For more information, please see the About Us page.
Rise holds first directors conference
On August 25th and 26th, 2007, RISE held its first directors meeting in Tucson, Arizona, to discuss and finalize our mission statement and first year’s goals.
Our long term objectives as an organization are:
Advocacy—for children’s rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, as specifically related to children raised in cults.
Public Awareness—building on the success of second generation who have spoken out in the media, we want to highlight and bring to attention children who fall through the net of social services and government agencies whose job it is to safeguard children’s safety. We will be putting together presentations and materials that can be used to educate law enforcement and educational establishments on second generation (those born and/or raised in cults) issues and concerns.
Resources—develop and expand our resources in terms of information and networking available to second generation.
RISE is currently registered in the United Kingdom but we are in the process of setting up in the U.S. as well. This will enable us to operate both in the United Kingdom and in the United States first before branching out further. Throughout the year we will be keeping you updated on our progress towards these goals.
SPECIAL THANKS…
…to John Molloy and Jean for helping to sponsor our first directors meeting. Your support was much appreciated and helped make the conference possible.
UPCOMING Memorial day for second generation
We wanted to announce our plans to hold an International Memorial Day for Second Generation children and adults who have passed from us. The five tentative locations for this event will be held in– California, London, Tokyo, Australia and Uganda. This memorial will not only be for second generation members of The Family, but the many second and even third generation members of other cults that have lost their brothers or sisters or close friends through suicide, physical/mental abuse and medical neglect, drug overdose and cultish fighting groups such as the LRA in Northern Uganda. We would like to invite anyone who would like to participate or help to organize this event to contact us at contact@riseinternationalcic.org, and we will keep you updated on the exact day (probably in August 2008).
CONFERENCES IN 2008
As part of raising awareness and the profile of second generation challenges, RISE will be attending the following conferences next year:
If anyone would like to donate financially to support the Memorial Day Event or to help cover the Conference Registration fees, please write us at contact@riseinternationalcic.org and/or donate via our online facility. Please let us know if you wish to remain anonymous, otherwise we will be thanking all our donors in our newsletter. Thank you.
*Rise International CIC is a community interest company registered in England and Wales, Company number 6266210.
