In 2018, there were 383 reports of human trafficking to the Human Trafficking Hotline from the state of Michigan. This number only represents reported cases; therefore, the actual number of trafficking victims is likely to be much larger. As Grand Rapids is thriving and growing, hundreds of people walk the streets, creating the need for our community to become educated on the topic of human trafficking. One way we do this is by hosting an annual event that not only provides education but also involves the community in our anti-trafficking efforts.
Held on September 7, this event is co-hosted by The S.O.A.P. Project (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution). The S.O.A.P Project was founded by anti-trafficking advocate and survivor, Theresa Flores. Flores, who grew up in the suburbs of Detroit in the 1980s, was trafficked out of her own home at the age of 15 without her parents’ knowledge. Her traffickers were a classmate and his cousins. Driven by the pain of this injustice, Flores started the S.O.A.P. Project to reach out to women and girls who desperately need to escape the sex industry but lack the resources to do so.
S.O.A.P. is a project that includes wrapping bars of soap in labels that have the national human trafficking hotline (1-888-3737-888) printed on them. Hotels are hotspots for trafficking. Victims and customers are easily hidden among those who come and go from their many rooms. The labeled bars are distributed to local hotels to be placed in bathrooms, creating the opportunity for victims to seek necessary help. Along with these bars, posters of missing children are handed out to hotel staff members, encouraging them to report any suspicious activity that could occur at their place of employment.
We invite you to join us on Saturday, September 7, as we drive around to Grand Rapids (MI) area hotels and offer them these complimentary labeled soaps. You’ll also have the opportunity to hear from WAR, Int’l founder and president, Becky McDonald, and from Theresa Flores herself. The cost is just $15, which covers your lunch (catered by our own Tea Trade Cafe).
This year, let’s create circles of protection and become modern-day abolitionists for women at risk in the greater Grand Rapids area. We have an opportunity to be advocates and catalysts for change. Mark your calendars and invite your friends to join us! Registration for this event is required prior to Wednesday, September 4.
Date: 9/7/2019
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: WAR, Int’l Headquarters, 2790 44th St SW, Wyoming, MI
Tickets: $15 (includes lunch catered by the Tea Trade Cafe)
Eden Witvoet is a local performer and musician from the Grand Rapids area. At just fifteen years old, she has developed a unique sound of her own. Having studied piano for eight years, Eden has pursued music vigorously, teaching herself the ukulele and guitar. She not only enjoys singing, but dancing and acting as well. She has been acting in the community for five years, and will be pursuing a career in musical theater after she graduates from Caledonia High School, where she will be a junior in the fall. 
Stef Loy and Nick Spruit met years ago at a temp job at the Grand Rapids Press, working in Walker, MI third shift. After years of knowing each other, they began to write music, and after creating several CDs, they finally put a band together to perform live. In the fall of 2016 Lapdogs officially formed, and their first full-band CD “You Live There” was released last May. The band plays around town at places like Rocky’s Bar and Quinn & Tuite’s Irish Pub, and are currently excited to be playing Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts on Friday June 2 @ 4:45 pm (Kendall Stage).