By Stefanie Donahue
To mark five years of business in Blaine, the staff at Betty Be Good Boutique is taking on a noble cause.
Owner Suzanne Smith announced that the boutique will sponsor a fundraiser called ‘Liberty in Style’ to support survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 11 at 8125 Birch Bay Square Street, unit 220. The event will feature a fashion show, live music, wine, food and prizes.
Tara Teng, the CEO of online retailer Justly Market, Miss World Canada 2012 and B.C. Director of Operations for the Joy Smith Foundation, among other designations, will emcee the event this year, Smith said.
Teng has worked in Canada and abroad to eradicate human trafficking. Among her many accomplishments is establishing Canada’s first municipal action plan to combat human trafficking.
The U.S. Department of Justice defines human trafficking as the use of force, fraud or coercion to recruit, harbor or transport an individual for labor, sex or other services by means of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery. In 2010, the department reported that approximately 12.3 million people from across the globe were in bonded labor, forced labor or prostitution.
In Washington state, human trafficking has occurred in at least 18 counties, according to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The international border with Canada, abundance of ports and rural areas and dependency on farm workers make the state “prone to human trafficking,” the agency said.
“Ten years ago when I would table this issue with friends, no one was even aware of the issue globally,” Smith wrote in a press release. “Now people are coming to understand that this threat is not only off shore but right in our own cities, closer to home that we realize.”
Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Lynden-based Engedi Refuge Ministries. The faith-based organization provides women who have survived sexual exploitation with housing, case management, life skills training and trauma-centered therapy.
“The women come to us after months of trauma, sometime multiple traumas a day at the hands of multiple people,” read a statement on the organization’s website. “We have found that love offered with grace and compassion changes everything. Everything we do is trauma informed and designed with restoration in mind.”
Tickets to the fundraiser cost $20 and can be purchased at shopbettybegood.com or at the boutique’s two locations, 8125 Birch Bay Square Street and 1301 W. Bakerview Road in Bellingham. Tickets include a $10 credit to shop styles from the fashion show.
“This problem may feel insurmountable, but we can take action and we can be part of the solution,” Smith said. “We invite everyone from the community to come to ‘Liberty in Style’ for a fun-filled evening of fashion and enlightenment.”
To learn more about Engedi Refuge Ministries, visit engedirefuge.com.
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