Co-Founder Of Selah Freedom For Sex-Trafficking Victims Honored As Community Hero

TAMPA, FL — On Tuesday night in the chilly stands at Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, Laurie Swink was honored in front of all the hometown fans. In an über swank and comfortable room at the community hero suite hosted by Jabil, Swink, along with her colleagues, celebrated her accomplishments as the co-founder of Selah Freedom, an agency dedicated to eradicating human and sex trafficking.

Selah Freedom, established by Swink in 2011, is a nonprofit based in Florida with the mission to end sex trafficking and bring freedom to those who have been exploited. Selah implements five programs: Advocacy & Awareness, Prevention, Outreach, Consulting and a residential home for survivors.

“The Lightning Foundation was thrilled to provide a $50,000 Community Hero grant to Selah Freedom to celebrate the tremendous work and impact of Laurie Swink," said Elizabeth Frazier, vice president of community development and social impact and executive director of the Lightning Foundation. "We recognize the challenges our community has with human and sex trafficking and fully support Selah Freedom’s dynamic programs to work toward the goal of eradicating this issue.”

Swink was visibly moved by the ceremony and happy Selah Freedom’s story made it to the jumbotron.

"Being honored as a community hero was an amazing experience. I was brought to tears throughout the night," she said. "It is just so nice to be acknowledged for work that changes people’s lives. It is wonderful that the Lightning Foundation grant panel chose my application and values the lives of each survivor and that they care about protecting boys and girls from being abused. I will be forever grateful for all they did for us."

Human trafficking is modern slavery and should not happen to anyone, so 11 years ago, when most of society was turning a blind eye to this issue, Swink was doing everything in her power to stop it. She has dedicated her life to ending this horrible epidemic and has not slowed down since Day One. Sacrificing personally, professionally and financially, Swink is determined to help victims of sex trafficking have a chance at a real life, one void of violence, crime and poverty. Put simply, Selah Freedom saves lives.

"We are so grateful to the Lightning Foundation for recognizing Laurie Swink, our co-founder at Selah Freedom, as a community hero," said Selah’s executive director, Stacey Efaw. "The event was so much fun and we loved the opportunity to get our message out to all the Lightning fans who attended the game. Selah Freedom has already started making an impact with this grant funding and we will expand our prevention program as a result of this support."

Sex trafficking is increasing throughout the entire Tampa Bay area. The state of Florida ranks third in the nation for incidents of sex trafficking. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay is right next to Miami for having the highest incidence in Florida. The traffickers have billions of dollars behind them, sophisticated systems and they are targeting children as young as 12 years old as their next victims.

Swink said the entire Tampa Bay community needs to be educated on this crime and join forces with local law enforcement to protect children.

"It was an honor to meet Laurie and all the other outstanding individuals from Selah Freedom tonight who dedicate their time to help victims of human trafficking," said Andrew Gallo, global program manager at Jabil. "I applaud the organization's community outreach programs designed to educate students and parents about early warning signs and risks."

In addition to staff members and board members of Selah Freedom, some supporters of Selah’s programs also attended the event.

Tom Free runs a foundation that has invested in providing grant writing support for Selah Freedom as a way to help the agency build capacity and awareness. Happily, his investment has paid off as Selah has secured several grants in 2021-2023, including this one.

"I am so excited Selah Freedom is receiving the attention they deserve for the great work they are doing in the Tampa Bay community and beyond," Free said. "My foundation has been a big supporter of Selah Freedom since 2021 and the progress they have made is remarkable."

Selah Freedom’s programs are supported by grants and individual donors who believe in giving survivors of human and sex trafficking a chance at a better life. To support the daily efforts in eradicating sex trafficking, visit the website, where it is easy to make a donation. Supporters can also subscribe to Selah's newsletter by going to the website, scrolling to the bottom and filling adding an email address.