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Dear HTAP friend,
Time has flown with the holidays and we are now in the midst of our busiest time of the year.
We have held two ARTREACH Train the Trainer programs, and spoken at an all day conference in Port Charlotte, FL. We're in the midst of a new TIPS program and are organizing our first trainings for the Point of Contact, Point of Rescue program.
We are also involved in a number of special events organized by our supporters.
There's more about all of these events, both just past or fast approaching and we want you to be part of them.
Nola Theiss, Executive Director
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Thank you to the
Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva
St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church on Sanibel
The Eileen Fisher Foundation
for their recent generous grants. We are proud to be associated with them.
And thank you to all who responded to our recent direct mail campaign. |
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We are now on Facebook and Twitter!
Last week we participated in a TwitterChat hosted by Eileen Fisher. Participants of the twitter chat were recipients of the Eileen Fisher Humanitarian grants to honor their Human Rights Efforts against child trafficking and child labor. HTAP participated with ECPAT-USA, SAVE, and Lotus Outreach. We had created a Facebook organization page some time ago, however, you may not know about it. Click here to "Like" our page. HTAP's Twitter page was created in August of last year and we are still learning our way around Twitter. If you are on Twitter, make sure to follow us. You can follow our Twitter feed by clicking here. |
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Wow! We've Got a Lot Planned Over the Next Few Months!
PROGRAMS:
ARTREACH Programs
TIPS Programs
Point of Contact, Point of Rescue Trainings
FUNDRAISERS:
Eileen Fisher Store on Sanibel: 2/22/13
Bling Bash to Smash Slavery: 4/06/13
Women in the Wind Poker Run: May 2013
FGCU 5k Run/TIPS: Spring 2013e
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:
Nola Theiss wil be co-presenting at a parallel event at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN on March 6.
Nola will also be conducting a workshop at the Zonta North American Inter-District Meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario in June.
We will be highlighting a few of these events in this edition.
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Special Shopping Day at Eileen Fisher Store on Sanibel
This Friday, February 22!
 
On Friday, February 22, from 10 am to 5 pm, the Eileen Fisher Store at 2055 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel is supporting Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships' ARTREACH program by donating 10% of all proceeds of the day to HTAP and double points for their customers.
Art produced by middle and high school kids in Lee County through the ARTREACH program will be on exhibit. Nola will be speaking at 4 pm about our efforts to end human trafficking. Light refreshments will be served.
This is the third year in a row that the Eileen Fisher store has supported HTAP. In addition, the Eileen Fisher Foundation recently recognized HTAP as its Human Trafficking/Human Rights North American grant recipient for its trafficking prevention work.
Please come and learn about HTAP's work and buy some of the fantastic clothing of Eileen Fisher.
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Congratulations to the
Southwest Florida Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking
on its incorporation as a Florida non-profit organization.
Beginning in Lee County in 2005 as the Lee County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Coalition has worked continuously with dozens of governmental, non-profit, educational, faith and service-based organizations and hundreds of individuals all dedicated to the fight against human trafficking. It was recognized as "a model of citizen activism" by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2006.
Since 2010, it has spearheaded regional efforts to organize by assisting groups in Charlotte, Lee, Sarasota and Hendry County and works with the Collier County Human Trafficking Task Force. It partners with the Human Trafficking Task Force based in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Ft. Myers.
HTAP's founders have been part of this organization since its planning stages in 2004 and we congratulate the organization on its incorporation.
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Bling Bash to Smash Slavery
HTAP's First Annual Signature Fundraising Event
On April 6, from 3 pm to 6 pm Eileen Fisher and Cip's Restaurant at the Forever Green Shops, 2055 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel are the hosts of HTAP's first annual "Bling Bash to Smash Slavery" event.
Four jewelry designers will be selling their creations and donating part of their proceeds to HTAP. They are also donating pieces for a raffle. A silent auction will be held and there will be a fun table of donated jewelry with the theme of "From Downton Abbey to Abbey Road" with vintage pieces made available for a contribution to HTAP. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar hosted by Cip's. People who dine at Cip's during the event or in the evening can designate that part of the check be contributed to HTAP. Please contact Cip's at 239-472-0223 to make your reservation.
Gorgeous pieces from Colleen Crandall
Beautiful diamond piece from Patricia O'Hara
Sanibel inspired bracelet from Wendi Miller
Lovely silver pendant by Lindy Holt
Artwork created by local kids through HTAP's ARTREACH program will be exhibited and there will be entertainment.
Two of the jewelry designers, Colleen Crandall and Patricia O'Hara, are currently holding trunk shows at the Ritz-Carlton and the Waldorf-Astoria hotels in Naples. Two SWFL designers, Wendy Miller and Lindy Holt, will sell their nature inspired designs. The designers are contributing a percentage of sales to HTAP.
There is no set admission fee, though contrbutions are encouraged.
Donated raffle prize designed by Colleen Crandall
If you would like to donate previously loved jewelry, assist in event planning, collecting or donating silent auction items, or to volunteer the day of the event, please contact Allison at Allison@humantraffickingawareness.org or 239-415-2635
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Thank you to the Theatre Conspiracy and the Alliance for the Arts for hosting us at the January 24th fundraiser. Thank you for exhibiting our ARTREACH paintings. Thank you to all of those who attended, our volunteers, and all of those who helped to make the evening a success! We were able to raise over $1200 through ticket sales and our silent auction!
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HTAP's newest program, in collaboration with ACT and Catholic Charities is underway. This new program which raises community members' awareness by training employees of businesses, hospitals, and community organizations about human trafficking and how to recognize signs of trafficking. We have included members of the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Lee CountySchool District and the Department of Children and Families in the planning process, as they are essential in the success of Point of Contact, Point of Rescue.
We have developed an easily identifiable logo (see above), protocols for employees to report possble victim sightings, trainings for the employees and law enforcement. We are training hotline personnel who will receive incoming calls from employees and law enforcement personnel. We are working on setting up trainings for responding law enforcement officers on human trafficking, policies and laws that affect victims of human trafficking, and about the Point of Contact, Point of Rescue program and the protocols set in place.
As the program continues, we recognize more and more locations that may need to be reached. For example in a Southwest Florida Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking meeting last month, it was pointed out that some traffickers may be using the free internet at public libraries to solicit johns and sell girls.
If you would like to make us aware of a location you believe may need attention, you can send Nola Theiss an email at nola@humantraffickingawareness.org or give the office a call at 239-415-2635
Thanks to the SWFL Community Foundation for their support of this program.
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During the month of January, HTAP introduced the ARTREACH program to 28 community leaders and members. We conducted two Train the Trainer programs at our office in South Fort Myers, allowing ARTREACH to reach even more of our community's kids and teens. The Train the Trainer program can be conducted in one full day. The training runs through the ARTREACH program and provides the trainees with the materials they need to conduct a successful ARTREACH program.
In the early part of the month, we worked with employees and volunteers from Abuse Counseling and Treatment (ACT), the Domestic Abuse Shelter and Rape Crisis Center for Lee County, giving them the knowledge and tools they need to conduct ARTREACH for their Community Education Program. They will take the five week program into area schools, teaching kids about the dangers of human trafficking through artwork. Other trainees included a volunteer from PACE and women who were inspired to help from the International Humanitarian Heroes event that HTAP participated in November of 2012 and the Alliance of the Arts Exhibition.
 
In the latter part of the month, we worked with women from Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS) who are in the Transitional Living Center. We taught these women how to be volunteers for the ARTREACH program. We gave them the information and tools they need to be a part of our programs and how they can use the information they learned to inform others about human trafficking. We also had a participant from the Tampa Area who will be bringing ARTREACH into a correctional facility for young girls. We are excited to have women from SWFAS assisting us in conducting ARTREACH programs and are anxious to see how the girls from the Tampa Area correctional facility fare in the program.
 
The Train the Trainer program is free to all those who want to participate. If you or your community group is interested in bringing ARTREACH to your community please contact HTAP's Program Coordinator, Allison, at Allison@humantraffickingawareness.org
We have an additional Train the Trainer program scheduled for the Tampa area on April13.
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