The Woman at the Well

Have you tried to make a difference in her life?  Who is she?

Maybe we don’t know for sure who she is, but many of us have tried to make a difference in her life this winter. Did you see it? Well, I saw a bit, and would like to share what I saw!

At Christmas time, we at Orange Friends Church began collecting shampoos, lotions, toothbrushes, and other small items that would be donated to The LifeLine Project and assembled into gift bags that would be given to human trafficking victims in Franklin County. The Project had a goal of filling 500 bags. At Christmas, that seemed like a BIG goal.  

Many generous members dropped items in our donation baskets, and our Outreach Commission provided almost $600 to purchase hotel-sized shampoos, lotions, soaps, etc. Our donations were combined with donations from other churches, Franklin County judges and attorneys, and other interested individuals. On February 28, about 40 people packed more than 500 bags in less than 2 hours! A shout out to our Youth Group, many from our congregation, and a few from outside our congregation. Thank you!

The following week (March 5 & 6), I joined a small group with Karen Monroe to deliver some of the bags. The first stop was Franklin County CATCH Court (Changing Actions To Change Habits).   After delivering bags that will be given to CATCH Court members when they are released from jail, we sat in for a bit of the court. Judge Herbert, who founded CATCH Court, has received a national award for his innovative and effective work with human trafficking victims. The courtroom included representatives from many social and Christian service organizations, as well as the women who are part of the CATCH program and required to be in court each week. It was very much a “wow” experience to see people ready and willing to make a difference in these women’s lives, and to see how much the women wanted to live a better life and to help one another.

On Friday, we delivered more bags – to the Amethyst House; Franklin County Health Department; The Well (housed at Salvation Army); and Choices (housed at Faith Mission). Each bag includes a message directing the recipient to Christ in addition to the soaps, socks, etc. There are still more bags to be delivered over the next month, and bags that Karen will be distributing on the street throughout the summer.

You have tried to make a difference in the life of a human trafficking victim. Who is she? We may never know. But, thank you for the part you played in trying to make a difference.

Kay Cermak