When we decided to volunteer for Beauty from
Ashes for our Civic Engagement class, we didn’t know what to expect. None of us
had heard of the organization before, and we had only a vague idea about human
trafficking.
We certainly did not know about how prevalent it is in the United
States. We were especially surprised to learn that Southwest Florida is one of
the most afflicted areas in the country.
The media in this area does not cover
the human trafficking problem nearly enough. Our professor and most of the
people in our class were very surprised at how serious the issue is in this
region.
This week our group prepared gift baskets for
victims of sex trafficking. We found it very satisfying to help members of our
community who had been subjugated. It wasn’t easy work, but it helped us feel
like we were accomplishing something. We know we are helping make Fort Myers a
better place. This experience is making all of us appreciate how easy our lives
are.
Victims of sex trafficking really need our help, and we can really help by
increasing awareness of this issue as well as helping comfort the victims with
things like gift baskets.
When our group learned we had to spend time
out of class volunteering, we were wary of what we would experience.
However,
even though we have only spent one week working with Beauty from Ashes, we feel
that we have learned a lot already. At first we didn’t understand why the
university we would require a class that included out-of-class work. All
college students are very busy, and most students don’t understand how
important it is to help people. However, I know I can speak for our group when
I say that we are starting to learn this.
In addition to the time we spend at the Beauty
from Ashes office, we are planning a separate awareness campaign. It is still
in the early stages, but our group is planning to inform people about the
problem of human trafficking in Southwest Florida. We will focus on educating
fellow FGCU students, but we will also inform the community at large.
In conclusion, our first experiences
volunteering for Beauty from Ashes were very positive. We learned how important
it is to help others. We also learned that unfortunately, sex trafficking in
this area is a huge problem. It’s going to be a huge challenge to eradicate
this practice from this area, but we are looking forward to helping Beauty from
Ashes accomplish this.
Alex McMillan & his civic engagement group at Florida Gulf Coast University
