In this Issue:

A new way for you to support HTAP
ARTREACH Updates: Heights and Fort Myers Police Mentoring Group.
Highlights of "Not on My Watch"
Save the Date: "Taste of Freedom"

SWFL Regional Human Trafficking Coalition, ACT and HTAP event:
October 15, Naples, FL . See flyer below.

We have revamped the way you donate to HTAP!!

Now when you click on any "Donate Now" button on our website, you are able to choose how frequently you would like to donate (one-time, monthly, quarterly, annually). You can also choose whether you would like to pay with a credit/debit card or use your paypal account to complete the transaction. If you would like to make your donation in honor or memory of someone, you can let us know that as well!

The new way to donate is seamless, quick, and enables you, our supporter, more control over how you to give to our organization. We sincerely appreciate every dollar that you donate to our cause, and I'm confident that we've made it an easier and more enjoyable process for you to give! Why not try out the new system today and Donate Now. Click the photo below to be directed to our new Giving Page.

We're so proud of all our ARTREACH graduates, but this one is truly special and we are so proud of her, we can hardly stand it!

Vanessa participated in 2 ARTREACH programs last summer at the First Haitian Baptist Church and Ebenezer Christian Academy. She's a role model for her 2 younger sisters, a great student, and a wonderful child all around. We are so proud of her and proud that she recognizes our role as part of her growth.

If you would like to sponsor her, you can contact HTAP directly if you have any questions or call the numbers provided.

Volunteer Opportunity!

We are looking for volunteers to assist us at the Alliance of the Arts Fall for the Arts event on October 17 from 10 am to 3 pm. We are pleased to join with the

Ft. Myers arts community for a fun event for families and kids.

We plan on having our mini ARTREACH program and our TIPS interactive program at our booth.

Come and join the fun!

For more info, call 239-415-2635.

NOT on My Watch!

Thanks to all who attended our Not on my Watch! event at the Homewood Suites Hotel on Friday, August 28. We had representatives from the hotel industry, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, Florida Juvenile Justice, the Greater Chamber of Commerce of Ft. Myers and other agencies concerned about human trafficking in SW Florida.

Thank you also to our board members, Lee Bellamy
, manager of Homewood Suites, along with the President of the Board, Linda Robison, the VP/Secretary Karen Pati, and board member Deb Penuel.

The food was great, the auction prizes terrific, the weather not so good. We hope to do this program again next year!

NEW Facebook Group for ARTREACH Artists!

If you have participated in an ARTREACH program, or are interested in participating in one, please join our new Facebook group: ARTREACH Artists.

Click the photo above to join our group!

Not only are there opportunities for you to volunteer with our program, but we are also hosting a fundraiser next year entitled "Arts for Freedom" and we will be looking for former artists to possible create their own individual pieces for that event. More news and updates will be posted to the group!!

ARTREACH & TIPS

During the first week of August, we worked with 25 students age 12-14 at the Heights Center. This is the third year that Heights has hosted us for this program and it is a testament to how much they value the program that they they make it available to their summer camp participants year after year. Special thanks to Mary Broomfield, the Heights Center Program Coordinator, for her support throughout the program.

The Heights ARTREACH marked the end of our formal relationship with the Art Instructors who have been assisting us throughout the summer, but some have already have agreed to continue volunteering with us as their schedules will allow. They were all impressed by what we are able to accomplish through ARTREACH and had meaningful feedback regarding the art instruction that will be incorporated into the new Art Curriculum that is in its final stages of development.

Girls at the Heights Center working on their painting about making good choices.

Natasha, one of our summer interns, assisting a group with their painting.

We are currently working with the Fort Myers Police Department's Mentoring Program. The students are from 2 Foster Group Homes so we are aren't permitted to show their faces, but in the next newsletter, we will show you their paintings.

We are so impressed with the Fort Myers Police Officers, especially Officer Yvetta Dominique, and the Counselors who come with the students. We see so much potential in these kids and so do they.

Thanks to our community volunteers who will be working with us over the next 4 weeks and our interns.

Point of Contact, Point of Rescue

In August, we had the privilege of traveling to Charlotte County to conduct a 3 hour training with the Florida Explorer Program police officers. They represented towns and counties around the state of Florida. They all work with kids in the schools and communities. They were very interested in HTAP's prevention programs.

After our presentation and lunch, Special Agent Patrick Crough of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, trained them on the law enforcement aspects of human trafficking as it pertained to their jobs. He also described the work that went into breaking the case, Operation Human Freedom, described by the Florida Attorney General's Office as the largest sex trafficking bust in Florida's history. FDLE and ACT were instrumental in the investigation and now the prosecution of the case.

In September, we will be speaking to the Women in Business Chamber of Commerce group and Insurance Professionals.

If you would like to request a training, please e-mail us at info@humantraffickingawareness.org.

Taste of Freedom

This event will benefit the SWFL Regional Human Trafficking Coalition, ACT and HTAP. It is by invitation only so please see flyer below for details, and contact us if you would like an invitation. Click he flyers below for additional information.

Below is your opportunity to buy raffle tickets for a 2 year lease on a Lexus!!

Which one do YOU want???

Transparency & Responsibility

The GuideStar Exchange, the premier source of nonprofit information, has awarded HTAP their Gold Level of participation which is an important symbol of transparency and accountability. We are a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and you can see our financial reports on http://www.guidestar.org.

a note from Nola...

Dear HTAP friend,

It's almost the end of our fiscal year and we are looking forward to our 10th year as a non-profit, serving Southwest Florida and around the country and even 5 other countries.

It's not been easy, struggling to first build awareness, then collaboration and now prevention and intervention.

It seems that everyday someone tells me how much greater the level of awareness is now than when we started and someone else tells me that they aren't aware that human trafficking exists in the United States and certainly not where they live.

I guess that means we all have to keep spreading he word. We are so proud of the kids we work with whose art is educating thousands of people on our website, in exhibition, and through their voices.

We want to thank all of you for the work you do, in the interest you have in HTAP and in your support. We really couldn't do his without you. That's why I hope you will look at the new ways you can support us as described in the first article.

Thank you again!!

Nola Theiss, Executive Director

Read, Recommend, Act

Here's another must read:

Rachel Moran lived a life of a prostitute from a very early age. As an underage child, we now know prostitute is a misnomer. She was an unwitting victim of the sex trade.

Her book took 10 years to write and during that time, she changed herself from a victim to an expert and advocate.

If you want to understand the personal trauma of the sex trade and the political, legal and cultural changes that are needed to change it, read this book.

Click here to view our complete Read, Recommend, Act Reading List.

We are so grateful to the Kiwanis Gateway to the Island Club. They invited Nola to speak an made a donation to support the ARTREACH program. We will be using it for our current program and for the printed materials for our programs.

We also want to thank all those that purchased hotel stays on our on-line auction and at our event.

We especially want to thank a wonderful woman who was so impressed by the paintings at the BIG Arts program that she called to see how she could make a donation. Then she came to our offices, looked us over and made another donation.

We are so grateful!!

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to Donate Now!