Former ETSU soccer player Rachel Layer and her relay team aim to raise awareness and funds for Rising Strength organization

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 26, 2014) - A member of the ETSU Women's Soccer program from 2005-08, Rachel Layer is now using the skills she sharpened at ETSU, along with a love of running, to heighten awareness for her organization, Rising Strength, which seeks to bring attention to the violence that occurs against women and ignite change that will keep them safe.

Since surviving a terrifying home invasion and attack last September, Layer has used the situation as a teaching tool by sharing her story at colleges, along with promoting self defense classes that will raise awareness of dangers and, in turn, help keep other women safe.

Layer, a competitive distance runner, is in the process of making her organization, Rising Strength, a nonprofit group. Proceeds raised through her relay team's competition in marathons, triathalons, and relays benefit the cause.

She and her teammates of the Rising Strength Blue Ridge Relay Team will compete in next week's Blue Ridge Relay (Sept. 5-6), a 208-mile race spanning from southwest Virginia to Asheville, N.C.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Make a donation to the Rising Strength relay team by clicking here

Visit the Rising Strength blog: www.RisingStrength.com

ADDITIONAL LINKS

Learn more about Layer's story from a Spring 2014 Johnson City Press article: "Fighting back: Johnson City woman who survived attack advocates self-defense" by Tony Casey