Print Share

Two Friends, One Mission

It’s not just their problem. It’s ours too. If you think human trafficking is something that happens only in third-world countries, think again. It’s estimated that between 100,000 to 300,000 children are at risk in the U.S. for sex trafficking each year. To bring it a little closer to home, a recent study conducted by the Schapiro Group (2010, “Adolescent Girls in the Texas Sex Trade,” The Schapiro Group) found that the North Texas area accounts for 35% of this statewide crime, and the FBI recently named Dallas and Houston as two of 14 cities in the nation with the highest incidence of the sexual exploitation of children. The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives more calls from Texas than any other state with 15% of those calls coming from the DFW area.

It is statistics like these that caught the eye of IBCers Kim Jones and Heather Crane. Although each of these women followed a different path, their shared outrage and compassion is helping to bring a dark issue to light.

Attending a golf tournament is typically not a life-changing event, but for Heather Crane it was. While on the PGA tour with her pro-golfer husband Ben, Heather heard Lamont Hiebert (Co-Founder and Director of U.S. Prevention for Love146) speak about a recent trip he had taken to Southeast Asia. Lamont talked about human trafficking and the toll it was taking on young children. At the time, Heather admits she didn’t even know what trafficking was and had never heard someone speak about it. While listening to Lamont, something stirred in Heather and her heart went out to the plight of the victims of this crime. She knew she wanted to get involved and doors started opening. Lamont approached Heather about being on the board of directors for Love 146 and shortly thereafter asked her to go on a trip to Asia to experience first-hand the devastating effects of trafficking. 

Heather explained what an emotional journey that trip was; “life-changing” is the word she used to describe it. Upon returning home, Heather was fully committed to the program and knew this was something she had to do. She enlisted the help of her husband and they started planning their first charity golf tournament to raise funds for Love 146. This would be the first of many tournaments; over the past six years the golf tournaments have raised $1.8 million. 

Heather explained her dedication to this cause, “One of my favorite quotes comes from Gary Haugen who started International Justice Mission, ‘It is not where is God, it is where are God’s people?’ My husband and I feel that calling to respond to Proverbs 31:8 — ‘speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves’. We desire to use our voices and platform to be a voice for those caught in this horrific injustice, and we desire great change to take place as a result of the awareness that is being raised.”

But Heather wasn’t the only one committed to this cause; it was in August of 2010 that Heather found someone else who shared her passion — Kim Jones.

Kim first became aware of the issue of human trafficking about five years ago, and like Heather, it was an unexpected event that led to her interest. Kim was watching a television show that featured an interview with Ashley Judd and Madeline Albright. They were talking about human trafficking. As with Heather, Kim was outraged and saddened by the statistics and something stirred in her heart. It was something she could not let go and she began doing some investigation. After hearing from a friend about the work Love 146 was doing not only in Asia but here in the U.S., Kim went to the Love 146 website to learn more. When she came across the Board of Directors page, she noticed a familiar face — a photo and bio of Heather. She couldn’t believe it and thought to herself, hey, I know her. Kim recalls telling her husband that she had to call Heather immediately. Coincidentally, Heather had just returned from her second trip to Cambodia when Kim reached out to her. Of course, as Kim looks back on the phone call, she realizes that this was no coincidence at all but a nudging from the Holy Spirit, and once Kim made that phone call, God began putting all the pieces in place. 

Shortly after their phone call, Heather and Kim agreed to get together for dinner to talk. They enlisted the help of photographer Trey Hill and began brainstorming about how they could bring this dark issue to light. The more they learned about the issue, the more they realized this was something that was happening closer to home and was a problem that lacked awareness. 

As they talked, they found some alarming statistics about the increase of trafficking around major sporting events, in particular the Super Bowl. And since Dallas was hosting the Super Bowl, they figured this would be a perfect time to educate people and raise awareness.

IBC had already been raising awareness about human trafficking for some time, but Kim and Heather knew more could be done. With little time to prepare, they quickly put together a plan of action for the week leading up to the Super Bowl. 

Both Kim and Heather agreed that knowledge is key and the first priority they had was to educate people about the issue. As Kim explained, “We needed to create an opportunity for education and for people to become proactive. You need to give people a reason to care. When you hear statistics like two children are sold every minute, it really makes you take notice.”

In a few short months, they were able to pull together a team and start planning. Along with the help of Love 146, the It’s Not My Fault campaign was born. Kicking off Super Bowl week, an awareness event was held at IBC where over 400 people attended to hear Lamont Hiebert talk about human trafficking and the goals and mission of Love 146. A former victim of trafficking also told her story of despair-turned-to-hope thanks to the efforts of New Friends, New Life (a partner of IBC). 

Using billboards, video PSA’s, social media and “Street Teams” (who worked during the week passing out information throughout Dallas and Fort Worth on the issue of human trafficking), the word was getting out. 

The men of IBC lent their support as well when about 50 men put on women’s pumps and stilettos and marched down MacArthur Blvd. to raise awareness of the uncomfortable reality of sex trafficking in our community. The Walk in Her Shoes rally was another way to bring attention to this important issue.

The “Anti-Pimp My Ride” vehicles sporting awareness magnets were slated to drive around downtown Dallas, but because of bad weather the event was rescheduled for April 9 to coincide with NASCAR. The goal is to reach as many people as possible. “We need more people of goodwill on our side to tip the balance against those with ill will who aim to exploit women and children,” said Kim.

But this was just the beginning. While the main objective for the near-term is awareness and education, the long-range goals include support and recovery centers for victims of trafficking.

According to Kim and Heather, one of the best ways to get involved is to educate ourselves about this issue and share that information with someone else. 

“Awareness is the first step,” explained Heather. “We need to arm our families and our friends with information.” 

“Human trafficking is a dark issue,” Kim added. “It’s not something people want to hear about. But if people would just learn one statistic, one piece of information and share it, then the word will spread, and with awareness comes action.”

The other major focus for the future is prevention. Plans are underway to work with the school districts, the foster care system and other organizations to educate young people about the dangers of trafficking. Since the average age for American girls who are first prostituted is 13, it is critical that we get to these girls first, said Kim. They need to feel valued and loved. 

As Kim explained, “The sky is the limit; while our vision might be focused on education and awareness for now, we don’t know what God’s plans are — God’s vision is huge.”

One person can make a difference, or in this case, two. Two women brought together from a shared passion are bringing a light in the darkness.

Peggy Norton is looking forward to spring after one of the strangest Dallas winters since she moved here in 1981.