Dr. Kim Richards
Tiffany Ramzy
Did you know that in 2019 Texas was number two on the list of top 10 states for human trafficking? Texas, second only to California, was followed by Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington. What do all of these states have in common? Ports, major traffic byways, large conferences, and large sporting events. Traffickers follow the money. Human trafficking is a booming industry, and it thrives because there is serious demand. However, the victims need help, not judgement, or punishment.
Human trafficking is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts or labor or services, against his or her will. Dr. Kim Robinson, a licensed professional counselor, psychologist, Robson resident, and member of Voices United (VU), shared these and other alarming human trafficking facts during a presentation at the August Voices United monthly meeting. She also shared a number of resources such as “20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking in 2021.”
Texas is hard at work in the fight against human trafficking, and Governor Abbot has created the Child Sex Trafficking Team to help protect children from sex exploitation. However, there is still more work to do. For more information, contact [email protected], or if you suspect trafficking, report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST.
VU Hosting 2021 Online Gala Fundraiser
Starting Sept. 13, Voices United will offer everyone a chance to bid on auction items and raffle prizes worth more than $25,000.
Auction prizes include a NASCAR drive; golf in Scottsdale and several local courses; a tour of the Jack Daniels distillery in Nashville; a nightlife tour of Austin. There are cooking lessons, music lessons, or cheese tasting in your home, a local wine tasting, and much more. Many items will go to two or three top bidders.
Raffle prizes include meals at several local restaurants, wine, home entertainment accessories, and a lot more.
The online raffle and auction will be easy and fun. Anyone with a credit or debit card can participate. Enter your bids online, then be notified of any competing bids and receive notice that you’ve won by email. Raffle tickets will be purchased online, receipts will go out to you by email.
If you’d rather make a tax-deductible contribution, you’ll be able to do that online as well. You’ll receive a receipt for tax purposes within a few minutes of making your donation.
The auction will close, and the raffle drawing will be held on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 2. Winners will be notified by email within a few hours.
Take a look at the HOA Activities email or the RR Message Board on Monday, Sept. 13 to participate.
Voices is a 501(c)(3) group of Robson women supporting Ignite, a non-partisan non-profit organization that helps young women learn about and get involved in government as elected officials or appointed public servants.