Congratulations to FAIR Fund, winner of the online vote!

From February 1-15, 2008, 1,187 people cast their vote for one of eight outstanding local nonprofits–the 2007 Leadership Awardees–working to improve the health and safety of our region’s women and girls.

More than 400 of those votes went to FAIR Fund, the winner of this year’s online vote!

FAIR Fund contributes to social change in our community–and around the world–by engaging youth, especially young women, in civil society in the areas of anti-human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, and through youth training programs.

Each month in Washington, D.C., up to 30 adolescent girls are identified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation. FAIR Fund’s programs work to change this reality by providing young people with an authentic opportunity to express their own realities, get help navigating the resources available to them and gain a better understanding of what exploitation is and how they can avoid or exit an exploitative situation.

FAIR Fund is making its impact on our community by:

• Working with 350 local D.C. teens, mainly girls, to provide them with a preventative educational program where teens learn to protect themselves from human trafficking through arts and empowerment;
• Training over 600 community members–teachers, law enforcement, social workers, health practitioners and legal professionals–to identify and assist youth who are at risk or have experienced commercial sexual exploitation; and,
• Training more than 100 university students to become the next generation of anti-trafficking leaders in their community.

Andrea Powell, Fair Fund’s executive director, has more to say about how sex trafficking is impacting young people in Washington, D.C. and how you can help. Check out her thoughts here.

The Women’s Foundation congratulates FAIR Fund for being this year’s online vote winner, and for contributing daily to social change on behalf of women and girls.

The Women’s Foundation also congratulates the seven other Leadership Awardees who participated in this year’s online vote.

Each of these organizations has already been recognized by The Women’s Foundation with a Leadership Award of $10,000 to recognize and encourage their effective, innovative efforts on behalf of women and girls.  The Women’s Foundation congratulates each of you!

To learn more about how you can support FAIR Fund’s efforts to reduce adolescents risk toward human trafficking and exploitation or to learn more about the issues, visit their Web site or call 202.265.1505 and ask for Andrea Powell or Amelia Korangy.

To learn more about participating in the next Leadership Awards Committee, contact Carolee Summers-Sparks at csummers@wawf.org.