Last Thursday, we held our 2017 Event Towards New Life, which was an amazing display of support for our organization and the women we serve. (Stay tuned for more photos!) Here are some reasons our attendees gave for supporting LifeWay Network:
Kenny Soule: “My wife got involved and through her I attended this event last year. It’s too important to not come back and get behind it. It’s a no-brainer. Life is too precious to walk by this.”
Melissa Gibilaro: “I think what LifeWay does is provide a need that people I think know is important, but LifeWay actually goes out and serves the community. They provide shelter and a transitional living for women who are looking to change their lives. They help them get on their feet and help them do something positive through different communities.”
Heather Higgins: “I just found about this organization today from a friend who has been involved and it’s a wonderful cause. I actually get a little choked up thinking about it. You’re really reaching out and giving these women a lifeline.”
Marianne Mocarski, President of the Board: “When I first heard about human trafficking, I was horrified. I didn’t do anything about it right away. Sr. Joan came to me and asked if I would be interested in being on the board. I said ‘yes!’ and she was surprised by it. I told her that I knew I needed to do something and here she was, giving me the opportunity.”
Anne Green, Board Member: “I’ve always been very focused on women’s issues, both from an academic point of view and from a social justice point of view. I was at a time in my life where I was really thinking about how I was going to give back and a dear friend of mine was on the board of LifeWay Network. I had donated several times and finally she approached me about coming on. I had a long thought about it and I thought this was really a chance to make an impact on an organization that itself was growing, where there were a lot of places to help, but also the impact [LifeWay Network] was making was so disproportionately huge on the lives of the women they were interacting with. For me, the chance to intercede when an organization is at a growth stage, but also to know that every single day LifeWay is making a massive difference for the women its sheltering, is huge for me.”
Ron Schaefer: “I like supporting this organization because the whole topic of human trafficking is an issue that’s gotten more profile over the past five, ten years. I think it’s a very important issue not just here in the United States but also abroad. The work this organization does to alleviate suffering of people who are subjected to it is a very important cause and I’m happy to support them in that.”
Mary Ellen Fahs: “I worked for forty years in East Harlem in a clinic for substance abusers and I’m a child psychologist so I worked with the children. These issues of trafficking are close to my heart because many of the women that I worked with who became addicts had been abused. It’s a little different from trafficking, but it’s all related and it’s all concerning to me.”
Sr. Joan O’Keefe: “I support it because I’m very concerned about women who are trafficked and I’m delighted that Sr. Joan Dawber and other sisters in New York have a real special place in their hearts for these people. I’ve supported them all along and I’m really happy to be at the event for the first time! The support from the Sisters of Charity – Halifax for LifeWay Network helps us keep our commitment to our corporate stance on people who are trafficked and working toward legislation.”
Sr. Regina Bechtle: “I believe that trafficking is a modern form of slavery and it arouses a passion in me to try and do something. The little that I’m able to do is serve as a volunteer at one of safe houses once a month. It seems so little and yet I’ve seen women grow, I’ve seen women change, I’ve seen women move into their own apartments, and benefit from the healing community that LifeWay is. It’s as much of a gift to me as any of my presence is to them.”
Sarah Sullivan: “The prevalence of human trafficking in New York City is something that resonates with a lot of young girls like us. It’s something that’s shocking to people and it’s not usually something that’s talked about so we think that we, as young women, have the ability to speak up for women who can’t.”
Violet Rizzieri: “I think a lot of people don’t know what human trafficking is, so when we started learning about the horrors of what happens in our city, we wanted to raise awareness and speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.”
Sr. Evelyn Lamoreaux: “I just think people deserve a chance. And the people who go through LifeWay have been used and abused and it’s just not fair. I have been privileged all my life and I think it’s about time I helped those who don’t have the same privileges I do.”
Sr. Alice Marie Giordano: “I feel privileged to be a part of a network that seems to so powerfully help people. The women that I’ve met at the safe houses seem so calm and supported and it’s great to be a part of that.”
Find us on Twitter or Facebook, @LifeWayNetwork, and tell us why you support us!