Denise Voth

Crafting to Raise Awareness

I was working as an office administrator at a community minded church a few years ago and we learned, (through a women’s group wanting to use our facility for an event), about how human trafficking was happening in our community. We held a few informational events ourselves and formed a committee to study the issue and to figure out what we might be able to do to help. The first thing we did was put together a program to provide care bags for survivors of human trafficking, who often do not have anything of their own when they are supported into shelters. We gave these bags to the women’s organization and to the first responders who were working with trafficking survivors in the community. I was hesitant to get involved with the issue personally, because I knew it would break my heart to be near the stories of these women, and that my desire to help might take over my life. But one day I was standing in a store looking at towels and washcloths to find my contribution to add to one of our care bags, and I started to cry. I usually buy the cheapest towels for my home, because I don’t really care too much about them. But as I was looking at the quality of towels in the store, I was thinking about how this woman might feel, receiving a bag full of things that were just for her, knowing that it meant someone out there cared about her situation. And I had to find the prettiest color of towel to bring cheer to her heart, and the softest feeling towel to bring comfort to her ravaged body.