Amazing People

Hello All,

Just wanted to write about some recent experiences here in New York.

When people say that New York is an amazing place I think it is important to note that what they mean is that the people of New York are amazing. I have sure met some amazing people recently.

2 weeks ago I had lunch with Andrea Suica, our anti-trafficking fund guru, and Faith Huckel the Executive Director of Restore. Restore is a NYC nonprofit dedicated to helping foreign women who have escaped the sex trafficking industry here in New York City.

If you want to meet a remarkably intelligent woman who is driven by passion and a belief in justice for women around the world you must meet Faith. Faith explained to Andrea and I that there is not a single safe house in all of New York City for women who are victims of the Sex Trafficking Trade. Let me repeat that. In a city of 8 million people, there is not one safe house for women who have escaped the bondage of sexual slavery. Faith pointed out that with no where to go, an inability to speak English and no documentation women who are held hostage in brothels throughout the city have literally no option but to continue to live in slavery. Their captors and their circumstances make that impossible.

What is Faith going to do about it? Her organization is raising money for the first safe house in the city of New York dedicated to protecting and assisting victims of sex trafficking. This project, Andrea and I agree, is something that GVN Foundation must help with in the future. So stay tuned as GVN Foundation develops ways to help Faith in her mission (for more information about Restore please go to http://www.restorenyc.com/).

I also just returned from an event in which the President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Judith Rodin, spoke. This woman runs the Rockefeller Foundation, which means she manages their over 3.8 billion dollars in assets. She was President of Yale, and before that President of the University of Pennsylvania. She spoke eloquently about new technology to prevent malaria (paraffin wax heated by the sun and brushed with human sweat), the Foundation's work to 'put pressure' on government to address the Hurricane Katrina Disaster and the need for property rights in East Africa. I was struck by her knowledge, her poise and her sharp intellect.

We need more of both of these women, intelligent, strong and passionate social entrepreneurs!

If you are inspired by their work, if you have idea to do something similar please consider joining one of our Be The Change Programs. This program truly is about giving people the skills they need to be the next Judith Rodin or Faith Huckel.

www.gvnfoundation.org/gvn_changemakers/courses/

Talk to you all soon!
Court