Privilege & Empowerment by Elisha McArthur

I am well aware of my privilege. I was born white, middle class, in the Western US, to Loving parents who instilled values of kindness and caring in me, because they were raised by parents who instilled the same in them… More than just instilling values of kindness and caring in me, my parents also encouraged me to be ME, in whatever way that showed up… I am comfortable in my body (well, about as comfortable as any woman in our modern culture can be.) I’m LUCKY. I’m lucky that I was born into such a loving family, I’m lucky that I found my passion of whitewater at an early age, I’m lucky that I was encouraged to pursue it, I’m lucky that I had mentors and friends who helped me hang on through the challenges of being a woman in a male dominated industry. I’m lucky that I have had the ability to accept opportunities that have presented themselves to me, I’m lucky that I’ve had people who believed in me… I am incredibly lucky to be where I am in my life and in my career! And it is important to me to give back… To maybe share a little bit of that luck with others, or at least the kindness and caring… I give back in as many ways as I can. I volunteer on the rafting committee of the ACA, I partner with an amazing nonproffit called ElevateHer to run their rafting program at cost, I donate to other nonprofits and causes, I try to give back as much as I can. I was recently asked to volunteer to help train female raft guides in India. (The very first female raft guides ever in India!) At first I said no, because I didn’t think I could squeeze it into my schedule, but then I realized that I had to… That this was an important thing, and that I was lucky enough to be asked to give to it… If this course goes as planned, the country of India will have 12 female raft guides, trained and certified and they’ll have each other to support each other while navigating an industry that has so few women, in a region that has NEVER had a woman working in it, let alone 12 of them! Some of these women have been given a second chance, been rescued from human trafficking operations, the rest of them even if they come from a place of privilege in their culture, this is still a huge opportunity, this is the stroke of luck that can give them skills and a career and maybe even a newfound passion. I am humbly honored to be lucky enough to be able to give in this manner… Mind blown… My heart is simultaneously like jello, like a melting candle, and like an overflowing spring! This program is still a couple thousand dollars short of its base operating cost. (We are making it happen one way or another though!) I’ve put the link to the go fund me in the comments, if you are able to give to this program in any way, I promise that it will have ripple effects that benefit the whitewater industry and women across the Globe…

Edit: This was originally a Facebook post, so here is the link to the GoFundMe