ARTREACH Students on Sanibel Produce Paintings

Island Sun November 10, 2011

Students from Sanibel and the nearby area participated in a four-week program on human trafficking prevention at BIG Arts this fall. They were educated about human trafficking and their own vulnerability to the dangers of trafficking. Girls between the ages of 11 and 15 are the most targeted group by traffickers and cases have been found throughout Lee County.

 Students heard Mary Lewis, a local social worker who has led human trafficking efforts in Lee County for years and who has worked extensively with youth in Lee County. Along with Nola Theiss, Executive Director, volunteers from the community including Gari Lewis and Eileen Roberts led the program.

Students produced two large paintings which together with 12 other paintings will be exhibited at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Fort Myers in November during the Made By Us Event to held on November 19. “Among Us” shows how trafficking exists in our midst but often goes undetected by those who are unaware of the crime and “Priceless” shows how the beauty of a young girl is devalued by a society which sees it as a  commodity and yet the girl herself is priceless.

The class was conducted by Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships (HTAP), a Sanibel-based charity whose mission is to build awareness of modern day slavery and to develop prevention programs which can be shared among the many local coalitions it has helped form across the country.

Thanks go to BIG Arts for the use of the facility, Doc Ford’s and Hungry Heron Restaurants and Bailey’s General Store for their contributions of dinners during the classes. The ARTREACH program is supported by a grant from Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva and by private donations.

The Sanibel ARTREACH program was the fifth ARTREACH program conducted by HTAP in Lee County. Currently HTAP is running two afterschool programs conducted at the Quality Life Center and the Pine Manor Association in Lee County.

Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships is currently holding its annual fundraising mail campaign to support awareness and ARTREACH programs. Tax-exempt donations can be sent to HTAP, PO Box 1113, Sanibel, FL 33957. Please contact Nola Theiss at 239-395-2635 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .