1:48 pm, March 10th, 2012
(GettyImages.com)
Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped at 11 and held captive for 18 years, was honored by Oprah Winfrey and others at the Diane von Furstenberg Awards in New York on Friday.
“My name is Jaycee Dugard, and I want to say that, because for a long time I wasn’t able to say my name, and so it feels good,” she told the crowd at the ceremony, held at the United Nations.
“My hope is to be remembered for what I do, and not for what happened to me,” said Dugard, whose JAYC Foundation “provides support and services” to families recovering from “abduction and the aftermath of other traumatic experiences.”
She cited the inspiration she drew from her mother, whose faith never wavered during Jaycee’s captivity.
“I have to say I felt her hope for many years, and it gave me the strength to go on and live,” reflected Dugard.
While Oprah was there to accept a “Lifetime Leadership” award for herself, the former talk show host used her platform to celebrate “Inspiration Award” recipient Dugard.
“I wanted to have the opportunity to meet [Dugard] and to tell her how much her story and her life meant to me,” said Oprah, adding, “Jaycee Dugard, I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future and toward a more victorious life for yourself, and for using your courage, your strength and your power to show the world that you care.”
Phillip and Nancy Garrido, Dugard’s captors, were convicted of kidnapping and sexual assault in 2011 and sentenced to prison.
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