Making a Difference

The Community Foundation’s Making a Difference Speaker Series is a fundraiser designed to inspire conversation, prompt action, and bring a new perspective on an important community topic. Since 2017, the Community Foundation has built our Making a Difference speaker series into a much-anticipated opportunity to cultivate conversations and nurture ideas that truly make a difference in our community. We have welcomed columnists, adventurers, entertainers, and changemakers. We have been moved by their inspirational stories, challenged by their thoughtful analysis, and prompted to deepen our impact in Southwest Colorado.  We are proud to present Elizabeth Smart and her heroic journey from abduction to empowerment as part of our Making a Difference Speaker Series.

The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. She was abducted from her bedroom while her family slept in the house in 2002 when she was 14 years old. Her captors held her prisoner for nine grueling months and controlled her by threatening to kill her and her family if she tried to escape. Surviving, and now thriving as an advocate, Elizabeth shows us that it is possible not only to overcome extreme adversity and take control of your future, but also to light the way for others.

Since her traumatic experience, she has become a vocal child safety activist, founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation which aims to bring hope and end the victimization and exploitation of sexual assault, written best-selling books about her experience – You’re Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment and There’s Hope, and currently an executive producer of several Lifetime movies and occasional news commentator. In her inspirational presentation that touches upon child advocacy and victim assistance, Elizabeth Smart tells her personal story and discusses the import process of recovery and not allowing your past to dictate your life’s future.

The Community Foundation will host two events with Elizabeth Smart in Durango and Pagosa Springs:

• October 8 | Journey from Abduction to Empowerment with Elizabeth Smart Luncheon|
Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts | 12:00 – 1 p.m. | Tickets $35 | Purchase Tickets Here 

• October 8 | Elizabeth Smart Presentation followed by a panel discussion with local experts and Q & A |
Community Concert Hall at FLC | 7 p.m. | Tickets $30/ $40 / $50 | Purchase Tickets Here

We hope you join us at this year’s Making a Difference Speaker Series and participate in the community conversation about child safety, healing and advocacy.