Eillen Fisher Helps Create Awareness About Human Trafficking

Photo Credit Angela Mayah Solstice: Stephanie Daniels-Wilson (left), Mary Bonnet (middle), Angela (right)

By: Angela Mayah Solstice

I volunteered and represented the Dream Catcher Foundation last night at a GREAT event hosted by the Eileen Fisher Store inside of Water Tower Place. Playwright Mary Bonnett from Her Story Theater gave a great presentation about the world of Human Trafficking taking place right HERE in Chicago. She was able educate the audience through a visual Power Point presentation mostly based on the play Shadow Town that wrapped up last year. Some AWESOME things came out of that play,  one being that the Dream Catcher Foundation was gifted with $20,000 through the proceeds of the ticket sales and two it is  now used as a teaching tool in the community! Mary also announced that Shadow Town II will be debuting later this year.

The guests in attendance last night were very attentive and asked AMAZING questions afterwards. Stephanie Daniels-Wilson who is the founder of the Dream Catcher Founder then shared her story and answered questions as well. All in all great turn out, attendees truly were made aware about the effects, causes, and preventative measures we can take in relation to Human Trafficking. Awesome event!

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Ten Thousand Villages

Do you like to shop? Did you know you can shop for a good cause? This is your chance to do just that! I will be volunteering this Sunday to help support The Dreamcatcher Foundation in their mission to combat human trafficking in Chicago. Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retail store, will be hosting a community shopping event where they will be selling handcrafted items in order to raise awareness and funds for The Dreamcatcher Foundation. I would love to meet you there and tell you more about The Dreamcatcher Foundation.

The event will be held on Sunday, December 15th from 12:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. at Ten Thousand Villages, 840 W. Armitage, Chicago IL 60614. For more information feel free to contact: Diana, via e-mail at diana.alfaro@yahoo.com or Jill, manager.westarmitage@tenthousandvillages.com.

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/westarmitage
http://www.thedreamcatcherfoundation.org

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Shadow Town

Her Story Theater FB

I will be volunteering this Saturday, November 2nd  for the production of Shadow Town at the Her Story Theater. Shadow Town is a compelling play about sex trafficking here in Chicago.

Via Her Story Theater FB:

Don Rose is a political columnist and the former press secretary of Martin Luther King. He came to see SHADOW TOWN last Saturday night and this is what he wrote in his column today. Thank you, Don, we are very grateful. SHADOW TOWN has 3 more weekends, we hope you'll join us. www.HerStoryTheater.org

"...More on changing from an appointed to an elected board in forthcoming columns, but I must take a moment to comment on a riveting new play, written and directed by Mary Bonnett, dealing with the rarely exposed but horrific topic of sexual trafficking in Chicago--a contemporary slavery that holds Asian immigrants, vulnerable local black, Latina and even white suburban children in medieval bondage.

I expected Shadow Town to be a typical, didactical rendering of a huge social problem. What I found instead was a compelling, maturely written and beautifully acted play with caustic use of music and dance that’s Brechtian in concept, sucking you in then alienating, then bringing you in again to the story of four girl-children and how they descended into “the life” of prostitution.

Our guide is a satanic super-pimp who introduces himself as “a man of wealth and taste,” then becomes a sardonic Virgil leading us down through his hell in 10 lessons, mixing sweet-talk, beatings and murder. Rashawn Thompson is magnificent in the role.
 

Will you join me? I will be representing The Dream Catcher Foundationwhich is a non for profit organization that services girls ages 12 to 24 who are at risk or currently in Human trafficking. The proceeds from the ShadowTown performances will benefit The DreamCatcher Foundation along with the The Salvation Army- PROMISE program established Anne's House, which provides long term residential care for sex trafficked girls, ages 12-21.

There is a Q & A after each performance. Each performance has a different Chicago notable who performs the role of Samantha's parent, (Samantha is the child from Naperville who disappeared from a connection she made on the internet followed by her parents frantic search for her), along with a celebrity singer opening the show, followed by a reception where the singer performs for that night's audience in the comforts of the theaters lounge. Below is a full list of celebrity appearances:

This Saturday R&B artist Tressa Thomas 




& Award winning actress Cheryl Lynn Bruce


October 31, 2013   ANITA ALVAREZ,  IL Cook County State's Attorney, advocateNovember 1, 2013  Congresswoman JAN SCHAKOWSKY, U.S. House of Reps
November 2, 2013  CHERYL LYNN BRUCE, Award winning actress
November 3, 2013  VICKY CURTISS, Assoc. Pastor of Mission, 4th Presbyterian Church
November 7, 2013  SYLVIA EWING, WTTW, Channel 11, journalist
November 8, 2013  ERIC ZORN, Chicago Tribune Columnist, noted author
November 9, 2013  DENNIS ZACEK, Tony Award winner, founder Victory Gardens
November 10, 2013  JOEL DALY, award winning news anchor, lawyer and actor
November 14, 2013  BEN JORAVSKY, editorialist for The Reader, author Hoop Dreams
November 15, 2013  WARREN CHAPMAN, Senior Vice President, Columbia College
November 16, 2013  ALEX KOTLOWITZ, awarded author, There Are No Children Here.
November 17, 2013 Honorable VIRGINIA KENDALL, U.S. District Federal Judge 

You can buy your tickets by clicking here.

3 hours of free CEU credits are applicable to all 24 performances, complements of the Graduate School of Social Work at Dominican University.

Don Rose commentary Via: Her Story Theater Facebook 

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The Gifts of Imperfection

By: Angela Mayah Solstice

I'm doing Dr Brené Brown The Gifts of Imperfection   E-Course from Oprah's Lifeclass. Per our first week assignment, I  am posting a Selfie with Brene's Perfection Pledge written on my hand! There is still one day left to join in if you'd like. Just click the link to find out more information here.

P.S.~

I found it so appropriate that I couldn't get my picture to rotate or edit!!

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Shadow Town

The young girls of SHADOW TOWN...Genesis Salmanca, Kenesha Reed, Lindsey Scalise, Hisako Sugeta, Danielle Nicholas...talented cast

I will be volunteering tomorrow night October 17th and Saturday, October 19th, for the production of Shadow Town at the Her Story Theater. Shadow Town is a compelling play about sex trafficking here in Chicago.

Will you join me? I will be representing The Dream Catcher Foundationwhich is a non for profit organization that services girls ages 12 to 24 who are at risk or currently in Human trafficking. The proceeds from the ShadowTown performances will benefit The DreamCatcher Foundation along with the The Salvation Army- PROMISE program established Anne's House, which provides long term residential care for sex trafficked girls, ages 12-21.

There is a Q & A after each performance. Each performance has a different Chicago notable who performs the role of Samantha's parent, (Samantha is the child from Naperville who disappeared from a connection she made on the internet followed by her parents frantic search for her), along with a celebrity singer opening the show, followed by a reception where the singer performs for that night's audience in the comforts of the theaters lounge. Below is a full list of celebrity appearances:


October 18, 2013   MARTHA NUSSBAUM, law professor at University of Chicago, author
October 19, 2013   MARION BROOKS  NBC  5 Chicago, anchor and reporter
October 20, 2013   NATALIE WEST, famed for Rosanne Barr TV series, actor 
October 24, 2013   JAMES SHERMAN, award winning playwright
October 25, 2013   WILL CLINGER, Channel 11 Wild Chicago fame, actor and comedian
October 26, 2013   CEDRIC YOUNG, award winning actor for film and stage
October 27, 2013   THERESA GUTIERREZ, Emmy award winning journalist, ABC 7
October 31, 2013   ANITA ALVAREZ,  IL Cook County State's Attorney, advocate
November 1, 2013  Congresswoman JAN SCHAKOWSKY, U.S. House of Reps
November 2, 2013  CHERYL LYNN BRUCE, Award winning actress
November 3, 2013  VICKY CURTISS, Assoc. Pastor of Mission, 4th Presbyterian Church
November 7, 2013  SYLVIA EWING, WTTW, Channel 11, journalist
November 8, 2013  ERIC ZORN, Chicago Tribune Columnist, noted author
November 9, 2013  DENNIS ZACEK, Tony Award winner, founder Victory Gardens
November 10, 2013  JOEL DALY, award winning news anchor, lawyer and actor
November 14, 2013  BEN JORAVSKY, editorialist for The Reader, author Hoop Dreams
November 15, 2013  WARREN CHAPMAN, Senior Vice President, Columbia College
November 16, 2013  ALEX KOTLOWITZ, awarded author, There Are No Children Here.
November 17, 2013 Honorable VIRGINIA KENDALL, U.S. District Federal Judge 

You can buy your tickets by clicking here.

3 hours of free CEU credits are applicable to all 24 performances, complements of the Graduate School of Social Work at Dominican University.

Shadow Town in the media:
 

Via the Huffingtonpost.com:

"The plight of women in prostitution has always captured our attention. We've seen plenty of plays, movies and books written about and by women of the streets -- all usually through a dreamy vaseline lens.

Now comes to Chicago Shadow Town, a play by Mary Bonnett, artistic director of Her Story Theater, a theater for social change. Bonnett's production aims to blow the fog away to reveal a bracing portrait of an ugly world forced upon innocents, some 11 years old or younger."

Read the full story here.

Via nwitimes.com:
 
"I first heard about human trafficking 25 years ago, while working on a documentary about kids in Uptown, a poor Chicago neighborhood. When I asked a young mother about her kids, she said, "The oldest is gone. She was only twelve. They shoved her in a car and took her away. White slavery, that's what it is."

What? I didn't know how to prove or disprove this. My documentary was about something else, so I filed it under "Things I Don't Understand."

"We're taking a closer look on who these women are," Lake County Sheriff John Buncich recently said. "They are not just prostitutes on the street. They came from somewhere, they belong to someone. There's a story behind these girls."

Mary Bonnett, a 60-something Chicago writer and producer, artistic director of Her Story Theater, is telling some of those stories now.

Bonnett spent close to two years interviewing dozens of people connected to sex trafficking including undercover detectives, caseworkers, FBI, vice squad, parents, pimps, therapists, and trafficked girls and young women of Chicago.

She wrote and is producing a play, Shadow Town, featuring four girls’ journeys into ‘the life.’ The little girl I remember from Uptown could be one of them. But she's probably dead. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, the average lifespan of someone in prostitution is 34, with violence and drugs the predominant causes of death."

Read the full story here.

Via Timeoutchicago.com :

"But with a production as interwoven with a cause as this one, the acting isn’t nearly as important as the brutal subject itself. Proceeds from the play benefit The Salvation Army PROMISE program and its residential care facility, Anne's House, as well as the Dreamcatcher Foundation; local experts who work with sex trafficking victims are on hand for a Q&A after each performance; and a rotating roster of different Chicago musicians and notables—from news anchors to state’s attorneys—take on two guest roles each night, generating even more buzz about an oft-overlooked issue that deserves the long, hard examination it gets here. It’s an effective approach, to say the least."

Read the full story here.

Read more media coverage on the following links:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-06/news/ct-met-trice-sex-trafficking-1007-20131007_1_brenda-myers-powell-chicago-pimps-dreamcatcher-foundation 

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2013/09/doing-my-part.html

http://newcitystage.com/2013/10/08/shining-light-into-the-shadows-her-story-theater-exposes-sex-trafficking-in-chicago/

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CFW

By: Angela Mayah Solstice

I attended a wonderful luncheon yesterday for the Chicago Foundation for Women. The keynote speakers were New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn. The luncheon was well presented and hosted by ABC 7’s Cheryl Burton. Attendees were ushered into the ballroom by the sounds of the Kan-Win Drummers which stands for Korean American Women In Need which is an organization dedicated to serving Asian American survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Chicagoland area. Several speakers graced the stage before the keynotes. One standout was a female military veteran who had been sexually assaulted TWICE while serving in the military. She bravely shared her story and advocated for mental health care and women’s rights within the military. Shortly after the dynamic and motivating Nicholas Kristoff and his wife came on stage. He lobbied for many issues in concern to women and promoted his book Half The Sky. The heart of his message was the ending of the human trafficking of young women. Him speaking on that topic was moving to me because in my interactions during the afternoon I was representing The Dream Catcher Foundation and talking about the same topic to others. He ended with a poignant message, which was that we all can make a difference. Which may sound cliché but it is so true! That each of us stepping into our roles helps to chip away at the bigger problem. One cause particularly close to my heart is the ending of the human trafficking of girls. I shared recently about a play called Shadow Town debuting here in Chicago this week. The proceeds will benefit The Dream Catcher Foundation and The Salvation’sArmy PROMISE Program-Anne’s House. Please come out to support if you can! I will be there October 17th & 19th as well as November 2nd and would love to meet you! Below is a small list of  Chicago Foundation for Women’s grantees and partners, please browse through them and find an organization that may interest you to volunteer with, or could be of service to you or a loved one.  Wanted to share with you all of this! Have a great day!

Angela   

Chicago Women's Health Center http://chicagowomenshealthcenter.org/

Connections for Abused Women and their Children http://cawc.org/

GirlForward http://www.girlforward.org/

Options for Youth http://options4youth.org/

Yoga for Recovery https://www.facebook.com/YogaForRecovery

Young Women's Empowerment Project http://ywepchicago.wordpress.com/

Sarah's Inn http://sarahsinn.org/en/

Girls 4 Science http://girls4science.org/

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Shadow Town

In my commitment to the empowerment and healing of women, I am anxious to tell you about an opportunity where you can help. In my hometown of Chicago and around the world young girls are being sexually exploited. It is a billion dollar business operating successfully in our own country and local communities. Young girls are being preyed upon by convincing and promising pimps. An  organization here in Chicago called Her Story Theater which is a grassroots professional theater company that creates all its original works about Chicago lives is featuring a production based on such circumstances. All of their performances reflect the human and inhumane conditions of woman and children worldwide, with the sex trafficking of young women being one of them. Here is a small excerpt from the promotion of their upcoming production Shadow Town:

SHADOW TOWN - a place where young girls are bought and sold like a product over a counter.  You never saw them? Invisible...a shadow in the night, in the light...365 days a year.  They are there...on your street, by your hotel, the business in your local mall, around the corner....your neighbor.

They come from Chicago, Naperville, Danville, any ville.

They are the young women and children who have been brainwashed, life threatened, brutalized, drugged and beaten into the modern slavery of sex trafficking.

They are your little sisters, cousins, aunts, daughters, classmates, friends, next door neighbors...and they desperately need your help.

Will you join me? I will be volunteering with The Dream Catcher Foundation which is a non for profit organization that services girls ages 12 to 24 who are at risk or currently in Human trafficking. The proceeds from the ShadowTown performances will benefit The DreamCatcher Foundation along with the The Salvation Army- PROMISE program established Anne's House, which provides long term residential care for sex trafficked girls, ages 12-21.

There is a Q & A after each performance. Each performance has a different Chicago notable who performs the role of Samantha's parent, (Samantha is the child from Naperville who disappeared from a connection she made on the internet followed by her parents frantic search for her), along with a celebrity singer opening the show, followed by a reception where the singer performs for that night's audience in the comforts of the theaters lounge.

I will personally be volunteering the nights of:
October 17^th which features Bill Kurtis and Donna Lapietra, power couple of media
October 19^th which features  Marion Brooks, NBC 5 Chicago, anchor and reporter
November 2^nd which features Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Award winning actress

I would love to meet you and tell you more about The DreamCatcherFoundation. Please note guest celebrities are subject to change and many more dates are available for tickets! Below is a video clip of some of the cast members from Shadow Town talking about how being a part of the play has impacted their life. I will show more throughout the month. I thank you for your support in advance! I hope to see you there! Xo

Angela

Find out more info & purchase tickets by clicking here

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