This past week we went to watch the new Batman movie and it was surprisingly good. I have watched the Batman movies from Adam West to the latest and through them all I must say that I am amazed as to how they portray the superhero. BUT the major reason I like Batman is that he represents the ‘average dude.’ Batman is just an average guy doing amazing things and so it always gave me hope that I could be like him…a superhero!
At Bikers Against Trafficking or BAT—-our passion is to eradicate human sex trafficking and each person who we have the honor of partnering with in this journey is a HERO. We could not do what we are doing without your help, partnership, prayers and financial support. Because of each one of you stepping up to fight alongside of us here is a little of what we have been able to do over the past few months:
At the 6th Annual BAT fundraiser ride in February we had over 200 people come out to support us. The parking lot at Seminole Harley Davidson was packed and we are so thankful for all our sponsors and riders who made that event possible.
We were able to educate over 7,000 to the reality of human trafficking at the various events that we attended such as Deland Bike Rally, the Burning Bike at the Volusia County Fairgrounds and the Craft Fair in Cocoa Beach which was done in conjunction with our Space Coast Chapter.
We were able to conduct workshops for two different human trafficking taskforce groups, a brief seminar with the Orange County Children’s Cabinet AND lead a large seminar at the yearly gathering of mental health counselors at the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association yearly convention.
However, the most exciting thing we have done is create a partnership for housing and clinical trauma counseling for children and young adults who have endured being trafficked for sex. Via our close partnership with the Allen Madden Foundation in Ocala and several other partners we are now able to provide housing and counseling for hundreds AND we are working on the nuts and bolts of how to get to 750 to 1,000 by the end of the year, God willing.
The housing model is exciting because it involves utilizing people who we will train to open up their homes and have an individual live with them and become part of their family. It is the way that BAT started and six of our original board members housed individuals who had been victimized. Our model started with utilizing homes and we are going back to that. As a result, we are looking for people who are interested in opening up their homes to house individuals who need a home and a healthy family to grow and heal. We are looking for people who want to be mentors throughout Central and South Florida, people who can teach someone how to cook, how to clean, some basic finance skills, etc… Each person who gets involved is, in our opinion, a HERO.
It is exciting times and we are blessed to have all of you as part of the team. Make sure you keep track of all that is going on via our Facebook page: BikersAgainstTraffickingFL or BAT Mid Florida or the other Chapters throughout the US and Canada that are listed on our main webpage under “Chapters.”
Plus, if you know of anyone seeking to start a Chapter let us know as well. We are always seeking to expand our footprint.
Peace,
Doc and Rainey
If you want to DONATE please click:
https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTA3MTU5