This year, Fried On Business has the privilege of once again supporting Lauren Book’s 1,500-mile Walk in My Shoes walk across the state of Florida.
Lauren is a regular guest on the show, and she’s walking for the fifth time from Key West to Tallahassee to raise awareness of childhood sexual abuse. Rallies and other events are planned at various points along the way.
Lauren was a victim and is now a survivor of child sexual abuse at the hands of her nanny. Because of her experience, she founded Lauren’s Kids along with her father, Ron Book, in 2007.
The walk will take 42 days to commemorate the estimated 42 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse nationwide.
According to Ron, 95% of childhood sexual abuse is preventable through awareness and education. The Lauren’s Kids organization, and events like Walk in My Shoes, are focused on sending the message that it’s okay for kids to tell a responsible adult if they encounter sexual abuse.
The message is getting through. We saw this last year at our rally in the Richmond Heights neighborhood of Miami-Dade County. When Lauren finished speaking and the event wrapped up, there was at least one child who stayed behind to talk with Lauren privately.
So we at Fried On Business will keep repeating the message and helping Lauren’s Kids in its quest to put an end to childhood sexual abuse.
Go to LaurensKids.org for details. There is a daily live stream of Walk in My Shoes, which ends April 22 at the Florida State Capitol building.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Ron Book of LaurensKids.org.
