Restoring Dignity. Building Confidence. Empowering Survivors
We pick up where crisis services end. RISE provides healing, hope, and the tools survivors need to reclaim their lives with confidence. Through workshops, make overs and holistic services we empower survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault to heal, rebuild, and rise right here in Columbus, Ohio.
Who We Are
Communities, healers, advocates, stylists, doctors, and dentists — together, we are RISE. More than an organization, RISE is a movement of hearts and hands united in purpose. We come together to help survivors heal, rebuild, and rise again. We believe in the power of community to turn pain into purpose and trauma into transformation.
Meet Rachel
The Heart Behind RISE
One Act of Kindness. One Woman's Vision. A Movement Born.
In 2006, Rachel escaped violence. Fifteen years later, a dental hygienist's compassion—offering care at no cost to repair her broken smile—sparked a question: What if every survivor could experience this kind of dignity?
​
In 2021, Rachel founded RISE to answer that question.
Today, as a trauma-informed yoga instructor, public speaker, and career empowerment coach, Rachel walks alongside survivors while training entire communities to recognize, support, and celebrate those who are rising.
What We Do
RISE is a Central Ohio nonprofit empowering survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault to reclaim their dignity and rebuild their lives with confidence.
​
Our mission begins where crisis services end. For survivors who are ready to focus on healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually — RISE provides the restorative support that carries them forward. Through transformative makeovers, art therapy, trauma-informed yoga, professional development, and self-care resources, we meet survivors where they are and walk alongside them toward who they're becoming.
​
When a survivor rises, everyone around her rises too. Your support creates a ripple effect that strengthens families, breaks cycles of violence, and builds safer, more compassionate neighborhoods right here in Columbus. Survivors gain independence, reclaim their power, and often become the very advocates who lift others up next.
​
At RISE, healing isn't the end of the story. It's the beginning.
​
In Immediate Crisis?
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
Survivor Support & Empowerment Days
Bringing survivors together for connection, healing activities, and self-care kits that remind them they are not alone. Through monthly community groups and trauma-informed yoga sessions, we create consistent spaces where survivors can heal at their own pace, surrounded by others who understand. Our annual Empowerment Days are transformative celebrations—featuring makeovers, art therapy, self-defense training, and restorative experiences—that help survivors reconnect with their strength, reclaim their confidence, and rise together as a community.
Education & Advocacy
True change happens when entire communities understand how to support survivors. Rachel facilitates trauma-informed training across diverse settings—from corporate workplaces to beauty salons, schools to yoga studios. Through interactive workshops, healing yoga sessions, and therapeutic art experiences, we're teaching allies how to recognize trauma, respond with dignity, and create spaces where survivors feel safe. Every person trained becomes part of a community-wide safety net—reducing stigma, increasing awareness, and transforming bystanders into advocates.
Medical Partnerships
When survivors are ready to address visible scarring from abuse, they shouldn't face financial barriers or insensitive care. Our medical partner network provides trauma-informed services—from scar revision to restorative treatments—through pro bono care, reduced rates, or RISE funding. We're building a circle of trusted professionals who understand that healing the body is part of healing the whole person.
“I would attend this event over and over. I have never experienced something like this and found it very healing in more ways than one"
"Each moment gave me something different: strength, release, and peace. Together, they reminded me that I’m still rebuilding myself — mind, body, and soul — and that’s the most empowering feeling of all."
“Being in a room with other survivors showed me I’m not alone. There was so much strength and kindness in that space.”
Every Helps Dollar Restore Dignity
Survivors in our community are rebuilding their lives — and they shouldn't have to do it alone. Your donation to RISE funds the programs that meet them exactly where they are: yoga sessions that help them feel safe in their bodies again, art therapy that gives voice to what words can't express, career coaching that opens doors to financial independence, and Empowerment Days that remind them — sometimes for the first time in years — that they are worth celebrating.
In 2026, we're going even further. Through our new Circle of Care medical network, RISE connects survivors with trauma-informed providers offering scar revision and restorative treatments — because healing the body is part of healing the whole person.
​
All of our programs are provided at no cost to survivors. Every barrier
we remove is one step closer to freedom.
​
Your gift, whatever the size, is a hand reaching out.
-
$10 provides a journal and art supplies for one woman in our healing workshops.
-
$50 covers a woman's full yoga session — mat, aromatherapy, and instruction.
-
$250 funds an entire yoga workshop for 25 women.
-
$700 sponsors a complete Art Therapy & Life Mapping Workshop for 25 women.
RISE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your donation is tax-deductible and goes
directly towards survivor services and community programs.
Our Sponsors & Partners
%20(1).png)
