Community Corner

Elizabeth Smart to Speak at YES Fundraiser in March

Abduction survivor and advocate for youth will be keynote speaker at Youth Eastside Services' fundraiser next spring.

Elizabeth Smart, the victim of one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time, will deliver the keynote address at the Bellevue-based (YES) Invest in Youth annual breakfast on March 13, 2012.

Smart will share her story of overcoming the impact of nine months of imprisonment and the constant threat of being killed by her captors, and talk about overcoming extreme adversity and how to live triumphantly after tragedy.

“We’re extremely honored to present Ms. Smart in her first major speech in the Northwest,” said Patti Skelton-McGougan, YES executive director. “The spirit with which she publicly acknowledges the private nightmare she suffered at 14 is admirable, and her message of not allowing one’s past to dictate the future is inspirational."

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The event will be at Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center.

Since becoming an adult, Smart has distinguished herself as a respected advocate for change related to child abduction, recovery programs and national legislation. She is the founding president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, whose mission is to prevent and stop predatory crimes.

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Smart is also a news correspondent on issues involving high-profile missing person cases. She will finish her music studies at Brigham Young University in the spring of 2012.

Founded in 1968, YES is based in Bellevue, with offices in Kirkland and , and provides a variety of youth counseling and substance abuse services on the Eastside. Visit www.YouthEastsideServices.org for more information.

—From a Youth Eastside Services news release.


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