THE LATEST FROM SAVING INNOCENCE

Read the latest Saving Innocence update here.

Wayne Brady, host of TV's Let's Make A Deal!, talked about Human Trafficking and The Signal live on air during his January 18 show..

At  Free to Thrive, we fulfill our mission of empowering human trafficking  survivors by providing much needed holistic legal and support services.  Because our primary purpose is delivering services, it takes a lot of  people power to serve our clients.  Without our dedicated staff, our  clients would not have the same access to critical, life-changing legal  services and resources. 

At  Free to Thrive, our mission, our programs and our services are not  possible without our incredibly dedicated staff, we count on your  continued support so that we continue this life-changing work. I hope  you take a moment to get to know our dedicated Dream Team here.

Because  of our services, our clients see limitless opportunities: working  towards their own home or car, obtaining an education, pursuing the  career of their dreams, gaining custody or increased visitation of their  children. Our services allow us to accompany our clients on a truly  transformative and invaluable journey.

Read the latest Free to Thrive update here.

Read the latest Safe Place for Youth (SPY) update here.

Learn how your financial support and your prayers LITERALLY SAVE LIVES and see how significant your involvement is as you read the summaries from 2022 by clicking here.

Sarah (name changed for confidentiality) and her three young boys  traveled across the country to escape their abuser. Without the support  of friends or family in California, and unaware of available resources,  they became homeless. It was a big culture shock for the family of four  fleeing an abusive environment from a much smaller town several states  away. Because her abuser had maintained financial control over the  family, Sarah did not have a rental history and her credit score was  quite low. This made it more difficult for her to find an appropriate  place to live. While unemployed and in emergency shelter, Sarah was  referred to 1736 housing services. Her case manager, along with an  employment specialist, helped Sarah to apply for permanent housing and  find a job as a self-employed hair stylist. After months of searching  for an apartment, Sarah was approved for a two-bedroom unit. Apartment  essentials and furniture were provided as Sarah and her children had  very few personal belongings. The three boys also received backpacks  filled with school supplies and started the school year off with much  excitement. Now, with a growing income and safe place to live, Sarah and  her boys are thriving. They no longer have to worry about where they  will be sleeping for the night.
 

“Thank you so much for everything. I feel like I can finally breathe again!”
- Sarah

If you, or anyone you know, may be  experiencing domestic violence, please do not hesitate to reach out for  help and support. 1736 Family Crisis Center operates five 24-hour crisis  hotlines, staffed by dedicated and caring professionals who will  connect you to life saving services and resources in your area.

1736 Family Crisis Center Hotline Numbers
(213) 745 - 6434
(213) 222 - 1237
(310) 370 - 5902
(310) 379 - 3620
(562) 388 - 7652

We  are so grateful for all the support we have received from so many  churches and organizations and look forward to continued partnerships  with each of you! Heather has been back in Thailand for just over a  month now and it has been packed with activity. Above was a fun reunion  with our friend Helen, who used to work with us at HUG Project. She came  for a visit for the first time in 3 years and we gathered as many  people as possible to have dinner together. (I think it was 15  altogether!)

We delayed this update to include photos from our Building Family Dreams graduation camp! See below for more info.

November  is Giving Tuesday, followed by the Christmas giving season. Please  consider giving to Jojo's Sanctuary during this time so we can continue  to expand our programming and help more students and families. We have  experienced massive flooding in the past month, causing thousands of  people to lose many of their belongings and we have been grateful for  the funding to be able to support organizations working directly with  those affected. Your special donations help us continue to have the  ability to provide emergency assistance to people in situations such as  these. As the year draws to a close, please invite your friends to join  our team as financial partners or prayer partners by signing up for our  newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dJCtPE

Dear Childhelp Educators & Engagers:

As board members, chapter supporters, and staffers representing Childhelp, we have so many great opportunities to teach others about this magnificent mission and inspire them to join us in the fight against child abuse. 

It was a joy to be invited by Grand Canyon University’s Honors College Dean, Dr. Breanna Naegeli, to speak at the debut of the Honors College Canvas the Community Campaign. It was a chance to celebrate the past, share some of the current work we are doing, and look towards the future. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by smart, dedicated, compassionate and committed young people ready to shape the world. 

We told them the story of Childhelp’s history because we were only in our early 20’s when we began this journey and wanted these bright young students to realize their own limitless potential. What starts with saving eleven children one rainy day can become the rescue of over eleven million. 

After recounting the breadth of our programs and services, it was time to engage these amazing students and discover their interests. Here was the challenge: understanding the great value of blessings in disguise. So many students leave school directionless, or they have a great passion and become despondent when their dreams don’t materialize. It is crucial not to let those moments define a life. 

I, Sara, shared that sometimes a dream diverged is a blessing realized; a goal reshaped into a divine calling. Just when you think your deepest prayers have not been heard, you learn that the greatest miracles are waiting right around the corner. 

The Grand Canyon University slogan is “Find Your Purpose” and we cannot imagine a better purpose than service! 

Read more about our amazing day     here: Honors students learn of Childhelp's impact - GCU News

 
For the love of a child,

Sara O’Meara Yvonne Fedderson

Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Co-Founder, Vice Chairman & President

On October 19, 2021, the Las Vegas Summerlin Rotary Club sponsored the Child Sex Trafficking: Are Your Kids at Risk? Grassroots Forum. The panelists were: Lt. Bill Matchko, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department VicSex Traffickine &g Investigations Section; Judge William Voy, Clark County Specialty Court for Sexually Exploited Youth; Kathleen Khal, Director, HUB - affiliated with Hope Church; and Dr. Christina Vela, CEO, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. 
 

Follow this link to view the October 19 forum. It is about 90 minutes.  The forum was the opening story of Channel 8's 11 p.m. news. A story on the Forum also appeared on News Break. 

Las Vegas Summerlin Rotary Club and District 5300 is partnering to  extend our grassroots a campaign into the Southern California area of  the district. The club has been closely working with DG-elect Roger  Gutiérrez and PDG Tom Novotny on the project.
 

The forum was the opening salvo for our grasssroots movement and creates a  model for other clubs in the district to follow. Some clubs have  already taken steps to move forward on addressing child sex trafficking in their communities and others are waiting in the wings.

RAGAS (Rotary Action Group Against Slavery) looks to provide information aboutt, and promote ways for you to engage and support anti-slavery and human trafficking projects, programs and campaigns.

Check out the latest RAGAS newsletter:

CLICK HERE