God is doing incredible things to transform lives all around the globe from Lynchburg, VA!
Last spring, Emily Deyoung signed up for an event management class at Liberty University. For the final project, students needed to host an event to raise $500 for an organization of their choosing.
After groups were formed, Emily pitched her idea to her four classmates. She wanted to partner with World Help to help girls experience freedom from the sex industry.
Their goal was to help 10 women, but God used these five girls to impact 50 women in India and Thailand! I recently sat down with Emily to talk about the experience:
Getting Connected with World Help
Emily spoke about her passion for helping women escape the sex industry the night of the event
Emily is from a small community in Southern California with strong ties to World Help.
In elementary school, Emily saw the Children of the World Choir perform. Her church has also partnered with us for many years to provide help and hope worldwide. She even went to a Night of Freedom event in high school with her mother.
After Emily graduated, she decided to attend Liberty University — which is located near the World Help office! She is double majoring in Professional and Creative Industry and Event Planning with the hope of becoming a wedding planner.
Between her studies, Emily has spent much of her free time volunteering with World Help in our Humanitarian Aid Distribution Center. Because of this personal connection, Emily knew exactly what her group should fundraise for through their class project: Freedom.
Why Choose Freedom?
The Night of Freedom event Emily went to in California inspired her to host her own
The Night of Freedom event Emily attended in California had a huge impact on her.
World Help president Noel Brewer Yeatts spoke about the women and girls in Thailand’s red-light districts who are selling their bodies because they have no other way to provide for their families.
Emily was moved to tears. She kept thinking about how she was about to leave for college and get a degree. How one day, she would do something she loved to provide for her family in a safe, dignified way.
“These girls are literally my age, maybe a little younger,” Emily said.
Since then, Emily has looked for an opportunity to help girls in India and Thailand. So when the project for the class was announced, she was thrilled to share her idea with her group.
Emily knew that God gave her this opportunity to combine her passion for event planning with her heart to help women trapped in the sex industry.
Planning the Event
Local businesses like Inspiration Co. donated items for the silent auction
Once the girls agreed that they would raise money for Freedom, they decided to host a Paint & Sip Night of Freedom. Since the group had no starting budget, they created a fundraiser on social media to cover the cost of supplies.
From there, everything seemed to fall into place. A local coffee shop offered to let them use their space to host the event for free. The group found a paint instructor and photographer willing to donate their time. Local businesses, as well as friends and family, gave the girls gift baskets to use in a silent auction. Liberty’s hockey team even signed a hockey stick that people bid on before the event!
Once it was time to advertise the Paint & Sip Night, Emily’s group created a link to buy a ticket or to donate. Within the first 48 hours, they had already reached their $500 goal.
That was when they realized God was doing big things through this event, so they decided to set a new goal of $2,000.
The Final Results
Emma, Bella, Emily, Ellie, and Lydia have transformed lives in India and Thailand!
The Paint & Sip Night of Freedom was a HUGE success!
As people arrived, they enjoyed snacks and refreshments before settling in to paint. Halfway through the night, Emily took to the stage to share her passion for helping girls escape life in the sex industry.
Between donations and the silent auction, Emily’s group raised over $2,500. Since every $50 helps one girl escape the sex industry, that’s enough to help transform the lives of 50 women in Thailand and India!
“It was all God. This could not have happened without the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord,” Emily said.
Thank you to Emily and her classmates, Bella, Ellie, Emma, and Lydia, for making such an incredible impact and transforming so many lives.
If you would also like to help women escape the sex industry, you can give today to provide essentials like a safe place to live, counseling, education, medical care, outreach, and more.