The Younique Foundation Heal the One, Protect the Many.

Heal the One, Protect the Many.

Shelaine Maxfield, President and Board Chair of The Younique Foundation

The first time I heard Shelaine Maxfield speak to a group of sexual abuse survivors was in the serene mountains of Utah County on a spring day in 2017. It was a Thursday, the fourth and final day of that week’s Haven Retreat—a world-class therapeutic and educational experience for adult female survivors of child sexual abuse. I was at the retreat for portions of the first and final day, observing as a recently-hired employee of The Younique Foundation.

I was and remain thrilled to be working for The Younique Foundation. For my family and me, this job has been a new beginning. And though I didn’t fully realize it when the 25 survivors of the 60th Haven Retreat arrived that Monday, their experience at the retreat would be a new beginning for them as well. I noted during orientation that one of the survivors didn’t look once at Gordon Bruin, our Clinical Director who helps run the retreat. This is likely because the trauma of child sexual abuse often follows survivors into adulthood and can be attached to a sense of shame and PTSD symptoms like depression and anxiety. It can be challenging for a survivor to hear or talk about sexual abuse.

On the final day of the retreat, I was inspired by the women’s visible change in demeanor, including the one who didn’t look at Gordon on the first day. I was eager to observe how Shelaine would share virtually the same message she had given 59 times in the exact same setting. At this point, I had barely interacted with Shelaine, the Cofounder, President, and Board Chair of The Younique Foundation, but I was already developing a deep respect for her. As I observed

Shelaine’s remarks and felt her love for these survivors on this sunny day in May, I was awestruck by her poise, passion, and authenticity. When I journaled about the experience, I used the words “love,” “inspired,” “eloquent,” and “sincere,” and I concluded with, “The Younique Foundation is changing lives for the better.” There wasn’t a trace of pretense or insincerity as she spoke to these women.

Shelaine Maxfield comes from humble beginnings. More than once, I’ve heard her say she felt like a “nobody from nowhere” who believed she was ordinary, insignificant, and inferior. But, after a challenging period of intense soul-searching, Shelaine now sees herself and others differently. She works to help people, especially survivors of child sexual abuse, experience new beginnings and a healthier, more hopeful perspective. She is an uncommonly authentic, relatable, uplifting advocate, encouraging everyone to see their individual worth and potential. She offers these inspirational words: “Embrace the truth that there is incredible power within you. Embrace the truth that you are intended for greatness.”

The beginning of The Younique Foundation epitomizes the truth that power and greatness lie within each of us. Shelaine’s husband, Derek, with his sister, Melanie Huscroft, founded Younique Products in September 2012 with a mission to uplift, empower, and validate women across the globe. The goal was to generate funding for a nonprofit foundation to address the issue of child sexual abuse. The Foundation was not an afterthought once the company became successful but a driving force from the beginning. Just over two years later, and three years earlier than expected, Shelaine and Derek founded The Younique Foundation. Not surprisingly, the Foundation’s mission is tied to the same truths about the power and greatness within each of us: @youniquefoundation

photo courtesy of The Younique Foundation

We inspire hope in women who were sexually abused as children or adolescents by providing healing services through retreats, survivor communities, and online resources. We empower parents and caregivers to protect children from sexual abuse through education and online resources.We make it safe to openly discuss sexual abuse through community dialogue and social awareness.

To empower parents and caregivers, The Younique Foundation launched a sister brand, Defend Innocence, which is devoted to raising awareness of and preventing sexual abuse. The Defend Innocence website hosts materials to educate parents and caregivers about the risk and impact of sexual abuse. It also provides empowering activities parents can use to engage with their children about healthy sexuality and staying safe. Defend Innocence also offers free, research-based course materials for parents, caregivers, and community members interested in teaching others about child sexual abuse and prevention.

As of mid-February 2019, The Younique Foundation completed its 116th retreat, making the total number of female survivors who have attended The Haven Retreat 2,355. That number continues to grow, and we’re working to open a second retreat in the Eastern part of the United States so we can increase access to our healing services.

After attending the retreat, participants are given the opportunity to enroll in our 12-week course, Haven Online, to further assist them in their healing journey. We also have an ever-expanding library of online resources explicitly created to help survivors. And this year we’re launching

THE BEGINNING

OF THE YOUNIQUE FOUNDATION EPITOMIZES THE TRUTH THAT POWER AND GREATNESS LIE WITHIN EACH OF US

our Finding Hope Support Groups that allow women survivors, worldwide, to create a community of healing close to home usingworld-class materials provided by The Younique Foundation.

Sadly, the sexual exploitation of children knows no boundaries. Child sexual abuse happens in every community regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, or economic background. Statistics indicate that 1 in 5 children is sexually abused before the age of 18. Also, in 90% of sexual abuse cases, the perpetrator is someone the child knows. Child sexual abuse is so prevalent, the reality is that you know a survivor, and you’re probably close to someone who you can keep from becoming one. I’ll use my own family as an example.

My oldest daughter is amazing. She is bright, beautiful, and compassionate. She is married, has one son, and is expecting a daughter in June. She is also a survivor of child sexual abuse. At a recent Younique

Foundation event, I had the opportunity to recount an experience when I shared some of The Younique Foundation’s resources with her and how meaningful it was to see her benefit from them. I then introduced my daughter and turned the mic over to her. What followed was a profound, remarkable example of courage and gratitude. My daughter spoke about how she has benefited from the Foundation’s resources both as a survivor and a mother. She shared how the Foundation helped her through abuse-related trauma that hit her in the late stages of her first pregnancy. Among other things, she said, “I hope you can feel my heart when I say that, in significant ways, my family was made possible by The Younique Foundation.” She was magnificent. I’ll never forget the hug she gave me after she walked off the stage to a standing ovation.

The Younique Foundation’s motto, Heal the One, Protect the Many, is probably the simplest way to explain why Shelaine and Derek started the Foundation. It’s a phrase that succinctly explains our motives and the meaning behind our work. And for this grateful father and grandfather, Heal the One, Protect the Many, describes exactly what incredibly powerful, big-hearted people are doing for my daughter, my children, and my grandchildren.

As a 501(c)(3) public charity, we need your help to heal the one and protect the many. If you’d like to contribute financially, volunteer, or add your voice to ours, please visit us at www.youniquefoundation. org and www.defendinnocence.org.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study,” 2016, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html.

National Sex Offender Public Website, U.S. Department of Justice, “Raising Awareness about Sexual Abuse: Facts and Statistics,” https://www.nsopw.gov/en-US/Education/FactsStatistics.