Rotary  International D5280 Past District Governor, Cozette Vergari, working  several years in the fight against human trafficking, was contacted by  high school student, Madison Vieira, from Palos Verdes in the Los  Angeles region, seeking to be connected with a nonprofit serving  survivors of human trafficking. This started as a Girl Scout Silver  Award Project. Her vision was to create a peace garden, a place for  these survivors to find a safe and peaceful place. Cozette connected  Madison with Alan Smyth, Executive Director for Saving Innocence. Saving  Innocence is a member of the RI D5280 Rotarians Fighting Human  Trafficking caused based Rotary Club, and is licensed and approved as a  Foster Family Agency. 

Madison  is excited to announce that “I completed my project yesterday (August  5, 2022).” Saving Innocence invited her to showcase her multi-sensory  garden for their Middle School Graduation Party. Madison shared “I am  happy that the participants can enjoy the sight of the plants, the bees  and butterflies, and the fragrances of the herbs. The best part is that  they can enjoy eating some of the edible plants.  I was told that this  was the first time that the organization had a party outdoors. Now that  the backyard has a welcoming, engaging environment with herbal healing  multi-sensory plants, the counselors plan on having many more events and  sessions in the backyard.” 

Just  for added fun at the party, Madison decided to organize a garden pizza  making activity, with succulent planting and pot painting projects. She  made mint lemonade using fresh lemons and mint, adding a strawberry to  each cup. The lemonade was a big hit. Madison included a nature trivia Q  & A. For those who answered correctly, she gave them edible dirt  with worms (chocolate Jell-O pudding topped with crushed Oreo cookies  & gummy worms) as a prize for answering. The lunch ended with  everyone frosting their very own carrot cupcake. She worked with Trader  Joe's and Ralphs, who donated garden vegetables and fruit, as well as  Costco, Home Depot and Loews. 

Prior  to the garden day presentation, Madison had been told that most  graduates are not fans of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. They said that  they would rather have Cheetos. However, “after I had them make their  own garden pizza using fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruit, they loved  all the natural ingredients so much that they ended up eating the extra  raw vegetable toppings that were left over. I am so happy that Saving Innocence now has tomatoes, strawberries,  rosemary, lavender, mint, peppermint, sage and other therapeutic plants  in their garden.” Alan, Executive Director of Saving Innocence, shared  that the staff was amazed at the effort made by Madison and how the  middle school graduates raved about its success.”

Cozette  was able to highlight this proposed project, plus many other of  Madison’s experiences with community service and leadership  accomplishments, in a letter of recommendation tied to a national award  application submitted by Madison, out of which she was one of only four  recipients selected, from approximately 230 applicants, for the National  Junior Honor Society Outstanding Achievement Award.

When sharing this news she stated “I want to thank you again for introducing me to Saving Innocence. At  the start of this project, I was nervous because I had not been to  formal meetings before. I have not had the opportunity to write formal  letters or had a chance to meet managers and community leaders. I  learned communication and written skills along the way. Also, I gained  confidence to meet with outstanding members of the community, write  formal email letters, and publicly speak. This project helped me develop  new skills that I had not learned at school. I plan to continue with  Model United Nations in High School, so that I can educate other  students on human trafficking issues. This project has been such a great  and unforgettable experience!”