History
The first benefactor of the Joshua Center -- a survivor of child sexual abuse -- wishes to remain anonymous. She passed away in 2018, leaving her vision to the University of Washington.
Through her life journey, she discovered the power of education as well as her own strength and resilience. As a young woman, she was fortunate to have an employer who believed in her potential and paid her way through college. She attended university at a time when most women were directed into careers as secretaries, nurses, and teachers. Instead of following the expected path, she studied business and accounting and became a successful entrepreneur.
She was passionate about sexual violence prevention and looked forward to a day when no child is ever abused. To this end, she helped to start the Joshua Center on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention to help prepare future leaders, promote CSA prevention, and support survivors of abuse. We are carrying on her legacy.
Why the name Joshua?
Our first benefactor was a person of faith and named our predecessor The Joshua Children’s Foundation because she believed that Joshua represented someone who persevered in the face of difficulties. A person named Joshua appears in the Christian, Hebrew, and Muslim holy scriptures as a faithful, humble, and wise man and a leader of his people.
Mormon settlers moving West saw the tree and named it Joshua because its raised branches reminded them of the story of Joshua praying with uplifted arms. The Joshua trees survive extremes of weather including heat, cold, and lack of water yet recreates itself in harsh environments often growing into a forest of similar trees standing out like a beacon in barren environments.
Our name of Joshua is in part to honor the adult survivor of sexual abuse who envisioned the Center we now strive to grow. It is also our goal to honor the many youth victims of sexual abuse who persevere in the face of harsh experiences and to all those youth who we seek to help prevent sexual abuse.
It expresses our hope to provide leadership in efforts to prevent abuse. And to be faithful to the communities we serve and to provide wise assistance to youth, caregivers, and professionals so that our collective work may one day be like a Joshua Tree forest, alive with trees that have survived and flourished, free of sexual abuse.