As Gaslowitz Frankel continues our charitable giving program to celebrate the firm’s 25th anniversary, Michael Stidwell has chosen Tabitha’s House for his donation.
When I asked Michael to discuss the reasons behind choosing his non-profit, he shared this story.
Let me start off by giving our firm a thumbs-up with its initiative to give back to the community. When asked to choose a charity to receive a donation, I quickly thought about a ministry at my church that deals with young girls who are being exploited by men, not only here, in Georgia, but around the world.
When I first heard that our church was going be involved with this life-changing organization called Tabitha’s House, I was very much intrigued. Having three young children of my own, two of who are young girls, I thought it most appropriate to choose Tabitha’s House.
It’s hard to even begin to fathom how someone can become so deranged and vile that he would lure or force a young girl (a baby) into business, where her innocent body becomes used for unthinkable things. And these depraved acts are all done in the name of money. Despicably, it has been calculated that sex trafficking is a $32-billion-dollar industry (annually).
Statistics suggest that each night there are 100 little girls from the age of 12 and 14 sold into sex-slavery. Worst still, the statistics are even more alarming at the number of men who are exploiting these young girls – 7,200 men each month.
While liberating these young adolescents is the top priority, I personally believe we must get down to the root of the problem before we can ever get to a full resolution.
There must be incarcerations, but even more so, there needs to be some healing, counseling, and intervention to get into the minds of these men, ask the tough questions, and see how these men are wired. In order to battle sex trafficking, we need to discover what has led these men to this path of selfish gratification from children.
And we must provide healing to the children who were victims.
In the meantime, I’m most proud of the efforts of Tabitha’s House as it provides a wealth of knowledge regarding sex trafficking and builds awareness within the community of the existence of this horrific industry. Tabitha’s House also teaches the warning signs if a child you know is being lured into sex trafficking.
While I was initially scheduled to meet with the chairperson to deliver my donation, I had the opportunity to place it right in the hands of the visionary himself. Pastor E. Dewey Smith of the Greater Traveler’s Rest Baptist Church was very much elated that his members were supporting the church’s effort to be a beacon of light to the community.
This donation means so much to me as I believe every dollar will be used wisely in the comforting of yet another beautiful young woman who has been trapped in such an ugly world.
To learn more about Tabitha’s House, visit:
About the Charitable Giving Project
To mark the firm’s 25th anniversary, Gaslowitz Frankel has decided to give back to the community that has been instrumental in our growth. Our attorneys and staff will choose 25 charities to be the beneficiaries of $500 contributions throughout 2014 calendar year.
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