A night at the Parker with Focus and Selah Freedom
27 April 2017
April 7th, 2017 – (Chicago, IL) As the sun sets over Chicago’s West Loop, Focus Development CEO, Tim Anderson welcomed his guests to the 6th floor amenity space at The Parker – Fulton Market. Members of the Focus family, corporate partners, friends and family crowded around delicious bites catered by local company FIG and chatted over signature cocktails.
After thanking everyone for coming Tim called the group together to introduce the reason for their gathering – a night to honor the work of Selah Freedom. A national organization with the mission to confront the issue of sex trafficking, Selah Freedom was founded by Elizabeth Fisher, a Chicago native and longtime friend of Anderson’s.
Fisher spoke of the reality of sex-trafficking in the United States and to the surprise of many, the magnitude of the issue here in Chicago. She gave the group tools for how they might donate their time, talent or treasure to a cause like Selah Freedom’s and examples of the impact that such work would have.
After the presentation guests were invited to explore the new Focus Development space at the Parker, take in the views from the 29th floor and enjoy the food and drink. The space and company combined to make for a wonderful evening and had a large impact on the community. The event inspired many and together they raised over $10,000 to support Selah Freedom’s new initiative to offer another residential program here in Chicago. Looking back on her night in Chicago, Fisher wrote, “I am so thankful that you took time to learn about our mission and that you allowed it to touch your heart. I had a blast and look forward to making Chicago a solution center for sex trafficking survivors! I hope you continue to join me on this adventure.”
Founded in 2010 by Laurie Swink, Misty Stinson and Elizabeth Fisher with the mission to shed light on the issues of sex trafficking and introduce means for prevention and rehabilitation. The group began offering services in 2012 and introduced its first safe house for victims of sex-trafficking in 2013. Today Selah Freedom has 4 residential homes, two in Florida and two in Illinois, provides outreach, prevention and awareness programming nationally and have been selected to develop best practices for the state of Florida. The next Selah Freedom event – Sail into Freedom - will be held on June 15th at the Sarasota Yacht Club. For more information on Selah Freedom and how you can get involved, please visit: www.selahfreedom.com