Event fundraiser combats human trafficking

Delta Digital News Service

Monday, Feb. 26, 2024

By Laila Casiano | Contributor 

JONESBORO, Ark. — Hope Found of Northeast Arkansas (NEA) recently celebrated its 4th Annual Date Night with a Purpose to raise funds to combat human trafficking, earning $21,717.74.

     Co-founders Megan Brown, Audra King, Mary Sellers and Miranda Ballard founded the organization in 2018 to provide resources and services to individuals affected by human trafficking. They began a fundraiser event that would raise money for these services. 

     “The idea is that you can enjoy a fine-dining meal from your home,” Brown, the executive director of HopeFoundNEA, said. “We partnered with award-winning restaurants and chefs, and so for this year, we partnered with award-winning chef Dana Lamel and the award-winning bakery Southern Confections.”

     On February 16, customers bought a ticket that would include two dinners and desserts to choose from. This year’s menu consisted of wild mushrooms and beef tip paste in a brown demi sauce, chicken Tuscan pasta, pasta primavera, served with an additional Caesar salad, homemade garlic bread and a cheesecake for dessert. The meals then would be delivered to the customers’ home (within a 25-mile radius of Jonesboro or an option for pickup) between 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

     The initial launch of Date Night with a Purpose happened in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing and Brown said it worked out perfectly and was a “huge success” for them.

     “When we first started, we were looking for a fundraiser idea that hadn’t been done around here yet,” Brown said. “We had a partner (Ancora TN) and they do a similar fundraiser, and they call it the ‘No Show Ball,’ and so we quickly recognized that this type of fundraiser wasn’t done around here.”

     HopeFoundNEA schedules three major fundraisers yearly, the first being Date Night with a Purpose, where the goal for this year’s fundraiser was $40,000.

In June, they have a motorcycle ride-in called “Riding Against Trafficking” in the Fall, they have a coffee festival. In these fundraiser events, they utilize volunteers to help execute those events. For Date Night, three volunteers —Sherrie Mitchell, Bridgette Craig and Paige Pickering — attended to help deliver the dishes to customers who bought a ticket.

     Mitchell, a Jonesboro native and mother of Brown, helps her daughter with HopeFoundNEA and helps with their fundraiser events, holding a position as a member of the advisory board since 2018. Mitchell took charge over listings for delivery.

     “We have sold tickets, and we have sponsors for this dinner,” Mitchell said. “This is just a great thing to help and support our program.”

     Craig, a Brookland native and new to the board since October, began as a volunteer for the program’s coffee festival.

     “We have a lot of community sponsors, so in addition to ticket sales, we have sponsors that will help fund and educate and fight against human trafficking,” Craig said.

     Paige Pickering, a board member with HopeFoundNEA from Searcy, Arkansas, said this is her first Date Night with a Purpose event. The company that she’s employed by, Life Strategies Counseling Inc., sponsored events for HopeFoundNEA in the past.

     “I have not been ‘boots-on-the-ground’ helping with this (before), so I am really excited,” Pickering said. “I am really excited to hopefully answer people’s questions and see what they can learn about our mission and generally being face-to-face with people.”

     The money raised would be used to provide case management services for the survivors they serve. HopeFoundNEA currently employs one survivor advocate on their staff, and with this money, Brown hopes they can hire another one to serve more people.

     HopeFoundNEA conducts many educational presentations for the community or those who want to learn about human trafficking. Last year they educated 5,000 individuals within the area. Recently, they have been teaching the youth about human trafficking through virtual reality (VR), where they have VR headsets to teach the students about the survivors of human trafficking. The Youth can essentially live through the eyes of the victim and learn how they can be “tricked and lured” into trafficking through a fictitious environment and circumstances.

     Brown hopes that the community will become empowered and educated in knowing what signs to look out for regarding human trafficking.

     “We are here, and human trafficking does happen here; a lot of people think that human trafficking is something that happens overseas or in big, larger cities, but unfortunately, it does happen here,” Brown said. “I want them to know that there is a program here that is meeting the need for these victims that are recovering from trafficking, and there is a program here that is providing education for the community.”

Donations are still open.

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NOTE: Feature photo shows from left, members of HopeFoundNEA, Bridgette Craig; Sherrie Mitchell; Paige Pickering