Opening Doors Through Workforce Development

Dear Friend of The No More Foundation,

This past Spring, The No More Foundation and ClearTrust piloted a Workforce Development Project aimed at giving survivors of human trafficking new skills and experience which they could use to secure gainful employment.

When Kara Kennedy, President of ClearTrust LLC, sat down for the first time with Tami Kent, Executive Director of The No More Foundation, it was more than just an introduction. Reflecting on the meeting Tami shared, “There are moments you walk into and you just know God has been preparing hearts for some time, and it feels like things fall into place almost effortlessly. This was one of those moments.”

Through her years of leadership and board service with various non-profits, Kara had developed a deep understanding of the challenges facing vulnerable women and children. She had witnessed firsthand the often insurmountable roadblocks that women encountered while healing and rebuilding their lives after experiencing abuse and exploitation. Having spent considerable time thinking and praying about how she and her business could make a difference, Kara was ready to take action.

What Kara didn’t know was that Tami and Kait Poppa, No More’s Anti-Trafficking Manager, had also been praying for God to open doors with local businesses to support the women coming out of the Survivor Safe Homes. They wanted to see the women find opportunities to grow so that when they stepped into independent living they had the best chance for success.

It didn’t take long for things to start moving and within a few weeks Kara, Tami, and Kait were meeting with the team at Created Women to share about this new opportunity to get their thoughts and feedback. Both Lurlene Diaz, Executive Director for Created Women and Lynn Connelly, the Program Director were excited and immediately had several women in mind who they knew would be interested. During that meeting it was determined that the impact of this Workforce Development Program would be more impactful if it was something completely separate from the Created Program, so the women could get experience every step of the way.

In January of this year several women filled out applications, created and submitted resumes, went through interviews, and 2 survivors were selected to become ‘Proxies With Purpose’. As part-time employees, for a 4 month period of time they were paid $18 per hour. Learning basic office skills, time management, teamwork, they set and achieved goals and at the end of the program had a solid reference from an employer to add to their resume.

Both women went on to interview and accept positions of full-time employment after exiting the program.

One small but actually really big testimony that Kara at ClearTrust shared with us was how they were able to help both women open bank accounts so that they could receive their paychecks. One of the women had never had a bank account before, even though she was almost sixty. It might sound crazy to you if you are reading this to imagine approaching retirement age and never having a bank account but it’s those vulnerabilities that lead people to exploitation and it was just another reminder for all of us about the importance of moments like this where we can empower women as they step into their future.

At The No More Foundation we are so grateful for people like Kara, and businesses like ClearTrust who are making these opportunities possible. Since sharing this testimony with other business owners we have had more people step up to say that they also want to provide opportunities for women rebuilding their lives to learn new skills and have new experiences that will give them confidence. If you know a business that would like to help survivors either in a similar way or to help support this work financially, please email development@declarenomore.com.

Thank you for your past support. It’s because of YOUR yes that this work continues. We invite you to join us again with a gift of $25, $50, $100 or become a 12:12 Partner with just $12 a month for 12 months. This mission is stronger with you! Give today at declarenomore.com or scan the QR code below so that the lives of the vulnerable in our community can find hope and healing.