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What:
Walk Across Oregon to raise awareness about child sex abuse.

Where:
We will start in Ashland, Oregon, on September 1, 2008, and end in Portland tentatively on September 29, 2008.

Who:
Survivors of sex abuse and clergy abuse, family members or survivors and supporters from the community.

- - Wintre's Wishes ( www.wintreswishes.org)

- - Compassionate Gathering (www.compassionategathering.org)

- - National Association to Prevent Sex Abuse of Children (www.napsac.org)

Why:
We want to inspire people across Oregon into action to prevent child sex abuse and care for the survivors of sex
abuse. Our ideas include:

1. Raising funds to provide therapy for survivors of child sex abuse through Wintre's Wishes Foundation
(www.wintreswishes.org).

2. Providing private support, group support and community support for survivors of child sex abuse
(www.compassionategathering.org).

3. Building support for a House Bill that will come before the legislature in early 2009 to raise the statute of limitations
on certain sex crimes including child sex abuse to twenty-five years.

What Else Can We Do?

Contact Virginia Jones, childhood sex abuse and rape survivor and spokeswoman for the Walk Across Oregon,
co-founder of Compassionate Gathering, cell: 503-866-6163 & e-mail: compassion500@aol.com

Contact Matt Nees, Co-founder, Wintre's Wishes Foundation, mattn@wintreswishes.org or 503-780-1965.

Special Guest: Steve Fearing is the survivor of clergy sex abuse whose lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Portland
lasted nine years and set legal precedent in the state of Oregon allowing survivors of sex abuse to file civil lawsuits
against their abusers within three years of realizing that they were harmed by the abuse they suffered as children.
Steve can be contacted at his e-mail address: s_fearing@yahoo.com.

Donations are accepted. Survivors and supporters are welcome to join the walk at any point along the way.

Tentative Itinerary for Walk Across Oregon

September 1, Monday -- Day 1
Ashland towards Medford: Walkers in Ashland include Virginia Jones and an anonymous mother of two survivors.

September 2, Tuesday -- Day 2
Through Medford

September 3, Wednesday -- Day 3
Gold Hill to Rogue River

September 4, Thursday -- Day 4
Rogue River to Grants Pass

September 5, Friday -- Day 5
Canyonville segment, Myrtle Creek segment

September 6, Saturday -- Day 6
I-5 to Winston, media outreach with Virginia Jones

September 7, Sunday -- Day 7
Winston to Roseburg, media outreach with Virginia Jones and Steve Fearing.

September 8, Monday -- Day 8
Roseburg to halfway to Sutherlin

September 9, Tuesday -- Day 9
Halfway to Sutherlin to Oakland

September 10 Wednesday Day 10
Skip to I-5 to Drain on 99

September 11 Thursday -- Day 11
Drain to I-5

September 12 Friday -- Day 12
I-5 to beyond Cottage Grove

September 13 Saturday -- Day 13
Cottage Grove to Cresswell

September 14 Sunday -- Day 14
Cresswell to Springfield, media with Steve Fearing

September 15 Monday -- Day 15
Springfield Through Eugene

September 16 Tuesday -- Day 16
Eugene to Junction City

September 17 Wednesday-- Day 17
Junction City to 99W to Corvallis

September 18 Thursday -- Day 18
Corvallis to above Adair Village. Press conference in Corvallis with Virginia at around 10:30 AM to 11 AM.

September 19 Friday -- Day 19
Above Adair Village to Monmouth

September 20 Saturday -- Day 20
Monmouth on highway 51 to highway 22 to near Salem, media with Virginia Jones

September 21 Sunday -- Day 21
Through Salem on 99E, media with Virginia Jones and Steve Fearing

September 22 Monday -- Day 22
Salem to Gervais

September 23 Tuesday -- Day 23
Gervais to Hubbard and beyond

September 24 Wednesday -- Day 24
Hubbard to Canby, media with Steve in Canby after 3 PM

September 25 Thursday -- Day 25
Canby to Oregon City

September 26 Friday-- Day 26
Oregon City to Portland, media with Virginia Jones.

September 27 Saturday -- Day 27
From Martin Luther King to Willamette Esplanade by OMSI, across steel bridge walkway connecting Esplanade
to the Waterfront Park, along Yamhill Street to Pioneer Square, then along Broadway to Grand Avenue. Media
with Steve Fearing, Virginia Jones and Matt Nees in Waterfront Park.

September 28 Sunday -- Day 28
Grand Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard, media with Steve Fearing, Virginia Jones and Matt Nees.

Background Information:

Children are more vulnerable than ever to sex abuse. Although abuse has always been with us, today internet
pornography and internet chat rooms provide new avenues of access to exploit children. These avenues also help
people with unhealthy compulsions easily find others who validate their proclivities.

Although some survivors are able to overcome childhood trauma and lead productive lives, the lives of many others are
devastated by abuse. Problems survivors suffer include alcoholism, drug addiction, chronic depression, thoughts of
suicide, low self esteem, anxiety, outbursts of anger, problems with touch, inability to enjoy sex, addiction to sex.
Many survivors struggle finding and keeping jobs or finding and keeping relationships. Some trust others too little.
Others trust too much and have trouble protecting themselves from further exploitation. Many prostitutes and porn
stars were sexually abused as children. Other survivors can be found among the homeless or the attendees at
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Many survivors are so burdened by their losses that
they are unable to pay for the therapy they need for healing.

Studies indicate that 1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused before the age of fourteen. For boys the figure is 1 in 6 or 7.
At least 90% of reported crimes are committed by someone close to the family. Despite increased awareness and
education about abuse, most survivors do not come forward until the they are old enough or strong enough to speak
out about it. The result is 88% of child sex abuse crimes still go unreported.

Most people think that sexually abusing a child is a horrible crime, but when someone respected is accused of
abuse, many recoil from the painful truth. We can't believe that Granddad or the reverend or the popular school
teacher could do such a thing. People sometimes show more support for the abuser than for the abused child or adult
survivor. This leaves the survivor feeling alone and unsupported. Sometimes the abuser is so manipulative and
threatening, the victim is too terrified to come forward for decades. In other cases the child doesn't identify what
happened as abuse. Only after struggling with multiple problems as an adult, the survivor realizes that they have been
abused. Many survivors never tell anyone out of shame and guilt.

Unfortunately those who do come forward are sometimes told, "Just get over it. Why can't you forgive, forget and
move on?"

These attitudes rewound the survivor, pushing him or her deeper into silence.

If a state has a statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of sex abuse, there is no recourse for the victims who
come forward as adults, and the unprosecuted abusers are allowed to continue abusing. Presently, Oregon is one of
34 states in the nation that sets statutes of limitations on sexual abuse crimes. Child sex abuse advocates note that
murder has no statute of limitations and believe that child sex abuse is equally heinous and should not be restricted
by a statute of limitations. Therefore we believe that the state of Oregon should raise statute of limitations for sexual
abuse crimes to give more time for survivors to come forward.

We feel that we need to do everything we can to both prevent child sex abuse and to support those who have suffered.
Join or support the Walk Across Oregon in our efforts to raise awareness about this issue, to nurture emotional
support for survivors (www.compassionategathering.org), to raise funds to provide therapy for survivors who can't afford
therapy (wintreswishes.org), and to pass a bill in the 2009 Oregon Legislature that will raise the statue of limitations
for criminal prosecution of sexual abuse to twenty five years (www.napsac.org).

________________________________________
My name is June, and this is my story...

The walk across Oregon is meant to bring awareness to the statute of limitations for child sex abuse in Oregon and
the importance of it's elimination; we are working hard preparing to present a bill to the legislature in Jan 2009. I am
also committed to raising money for our foundation to help adult survivors of child sex abuse with resources for
therapy; many sex abuse survivors have limited resources which prevent them from receiving the therapy they need.

This walk is inspired by a person who went to the police to prosecute their abuser and was told it was to late; their
statute of limitations had run out. We realize that the majority of survivors are not able to remember or talk about their
abuse until years after it happened. We are working to stop child predators before they offend. Please help us with
your support and word of mouth; we all know someone who has been abused whether we realize it or not.

The reason for this Project Walk Across Oregon is 3-fold:

" To eliminate the statute of limitations for child sex abuse in Oregon

" Raise funds for Wintre's Wishes to provide therapy resources for survivors of child sex abuse

" Provide emotional support for survivors and their families

Since then the wheels have been moving. I have linked up with another couple, Janet and Matt Nees who are
passionate about helping child sex abuse victims and who have started a non-profit organization and website to help
my cause and raise funds for adult survivors of child sex abuse with funds for therapy. It is often difficult for survivors to
work, due to their trauma, and therapy is what they need the most.

My goal for the walk is to talk to as many people as possible along the way and find out their stories and let them
know we support them and in turn they can support themselves and future victims of child sex abuse by supporting
the elimination of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse. The safety of our children requires it.