By Jan Edwards | President
Q4 was the culmination of an extraordinary year!
We won multiple grants, the Victory Cup and had and outstanding matching raise for to go into 2024 equiped to do our work and train even more youth!
We educated over 10,000 youth and parents this year - a record year of education and empowerment!
Here is a brief list of the organizations we got to partner up with and empower children to disrupt the cycle of exploitation:
- Added Elevate Orlando – 3 High Schools, 6 Middle Schools
- Orange County Parks and Rec Training
- Foster Grandparents Training
- Participated in mulitple Community events
- DC Youth on the Hill – Advocating with youth to hold big tech accountable
- Attended DC NCOSE Gala and advocated on the Hill
- Trained at the Statewide DJJ Conference
We trained our first group of youth at an addiction Center and their staff. That was terrific and very rewarding. These kiddos get the impact over time.
We also had an opportunit ty to train PI's with the Florida Alliance of Legal Investigators in Tampa!
Foster youth have become newer opportunity to educate both the youth and those that surround them as we added a Medical Staff Training for Special Needs Foster Youth
We had our Inagural in person fund raiser for Lights on For Children Fundraiser on 11/18! We had over 60 people attend and raised about $3,000. It was a lovely evening with a brave teen sharing the difference our education made for her and her family.
One of the most exciting thing we've accompished this year was creating a partnership with Orange County Public Schools - by having a Proclmation read at the Board Meeting declaring January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month for all of OCPS.
We trained 150 Care Cooridinators, SAFE officeers and Social Workers in December to get us ready to go into schools and train the students.
We've also added YMCA After School programs along with After School All Stars into the training mix for 2024 - we are thrilled to be reaching so many of our youth!
One of my favorite moments of the fall was a young man came up to me after our 1st day of training, he was very engaged during the training and asked us when we were coming back. I said "next week", he said, "oh is that it?" I said "yes", he got sad and said, "oh, that's too bad. This was fun."
Apparently, we continue to make education fun and engaging with middle schoolers on a challenging topic.
Lastly, one my hearts desires and goal is to educate the youth in our tribal nations in the United States. As a member of the Cherokee Tribe and direct desendant of the Trail of Tears, bringing hope and light to our family was realized in December when I had the opportunity to educate over 100 Lakota Nation Teachers, Administrators and Leaders about human trafficking and online exploitation, what to look for and ways they can help prevent it by talking with their kids.
It was a most memorable year of impact and we are grateful for you being on this journey with us.
We look forward to another year of big impact. We truly apprciate your continued support and belief in this mission.
Thank you!
Jan
Jan Edwards
Chief Change Maker
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