REFUGE Talks: Ginna Claire Mason & Mary Kate Morrissey

For our latest REFUGE Talk, the girls at The Refuge Ranch met Broadway stars, Ginna Claire Mason & Mary Kate Morrissey, who played opposite one another as Glinda and Elphaba in the Wicked National Tour.

This talk was special, not just because the girls got to learn about a career in musical theatre, but also because of the friendship Mary Kate & Ginna Claire formed while performing on the road together for an entire year—that’s over 400 shows! Just like their characters from Wicked, MK and GC have opposite personalities, but they compliment each other in a way that is evident to everyone. Meeting this duo was magical!

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the theaters down, Ginna Claire was on Broadway as Glinda in Wicked and Mary Kate was starring as Janis in the Mean Girls National Tour. When their in-person jobs were put on an indefinite pause, the friends decided to start their own virtual musical theatre school, Double Name Witches, where aspiring performers of all skill levels have the opportunity to be coached by this dynamic pair.

During their REFUGE Talk, Ginna Claire and Mary Kate shared memories of their time on the road (including what it was like to be painted entirely green), advice on sisterhood and friendship, and how music speaks when words are not enough.

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

A Christmas Miracle at The Refuge Ranch!

We all love a good Christmas miracle story. This time last year, a team of thirty-five angels moved Heaven and literal Earth and accomplished a miracle the day before Christmas. Please watch our Christmas Special and share it with your friends!

On behalf of the girls in our care, our staff and our Board of Directors, we hope that the most wonderful time of the year, is truly the most wonderful Christmas ever for you and your family.

Thanks to your support, we will be celebrating our third Christmas at The Refuge Ranch, the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

We are so grateful for your continued support, especially since this has been a challenging year for everyone.

Thanks to the many kind souls who remember us in their year-end giving, The Refuge Ranch, a place of rest and restoration, a place of hope and healing, will continue to celebrate many more Christmases.

We’re looking forward to seeing what happens next during the most wonderful time of the year.

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Read our blog post on Eight Days of Hope and the power of community here.

Supporter Spotlight: We can't thank these supporters enough

We have been so encouraged by the many individuals and businesses who have gone the extra mile to support The Refuge during this turbulent year. Here are a few stories of the creative supporters who bless our organization!

Austin Salons Collecting Items from The List

In the last few months, two local salon owners have partnered with us to collect items from The List, our regularly updated wish list of items needed for survivors recovering at The Refuge Ranch.

Keri Bryant put up a blue and white Christmas tree in the lobby of her lash salon for customers to drop off items from The List. On top of collecting much-needed items, she also sold our Dove Tile Kits to customers who wanted another fun way to get involved! 

Ashley Whitfield and her team at Aloe Skin + Body set up a donation drop box in their lobby to collect items from The List. They have also donated a percentage of their gift card sales to The Refuge and painted Dove Tiles together as a team!

We are so grateful for the ways both salons have shared our mission of hope and healing to their customers, and for the ways they have helped us reach more of the Central Texas community.

UT Student Raises $3,000 for The Refuge 

Grace Besly, a freshman at The University of Texas at Austin, contacted us in September with the idea to turn an assignment from her Communications and Leadership class into a fundraiser for The Refuge. Through advocating for The Refuge on social media and selling t-shirt, Grace raised $3,000 in 2 months. Thank you, Grace, for using your school assignment to make a difference in the lives of trafficking survivors!

Moreland Properties 

The team at Moreland Properties collected and delivered five bedroom and bathroom bundles that will help us welcome new girls arriving at The Refuge Ranch this year. They came to one of our collections drive days with cars packed to the ceiling with bedding, towels, and home décor collected by 15 people. It was encouraging to see their team excitedly working together to help provide much comfort for the girls.

Emily Moreland, owner of Moreland Properties, has been a consistent supporter of The Refuge since before we opened in 2018. As part of our Support Team, she receives monthly emails with hands-on, Austin-based opportunities to support The Refuge, including our most urgent collections drive needs. Through that email, she learned about the Stock Our Cottages campaign and was inspired to mobilize her team.

There are many more stories we could tell of the creative ways you support our mission of hope and healing—in fact, keep an eye on this blog for more to come! As we always say, The Refuge Ranch was built by community, and it will be sustained by community. Thank you for being part of our community. 

If these stories of generosity inspired you to partner further with The Refuge, fill out our Join a Team survey to receive email updates on current needs and opportunities specific to your interests.

Halloween at The Refuge Ranch

We had a full weekend of Halloween fun out at The Refuge Ranch! The festivities kicked off after school on Thursday with a Trunk or Treat. Staff dressed up and decorated their vehicles to pass out candy and other snacks to the girls. For a chance to elicit big smiles from the girls, staff members went all out with their decorations.

On Thursday night, the middle aisle in The Chapel was transformed into a runway for a Halloween Pageant. The girls donned their costumes to walk down the runway and participate in a talent competition.

On Friday night, the girls painted pumpkins with their cottage mates and House Parents to put on their front porch.

On Saturday, the girls played Halloween games in the morning, baked cookies in the afternoon, and watched a Halloween movie in the evening.

Thank you Brunch Babes, OUR Austin, and Sisterhood Story for your generous donations that helped make the Halloween festivities a hit with the girls at The Refuge Ranch. Through your support, every girl got to pick out her own costume to wear during Trunk or Treat and our Halloween Pageant. From inflatable penguins to Marvel superheroes, each girl’s costume reflected her unique personality.

Thank you to our sponsors!

We are so grateful to our sponsors who helped make Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch a success. Our online tour of the 23-building, 50-acre labor of love known as The Refuge Ranch was not just a fundraising event—it was an opportunity to introduce many people, whether brand new or long-time supporters, to the intricacies of our mission.

Thank you to our sponsors for making this first-ever tour possible. By partnering with us for this event, you have helped stir many more hearts for our mission of hope and healing. It is through your support that we are able to offer rest and restoration to child survivors of sex trafficking.

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2020 Circle of Hope Hummingbird Sponsors

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$50,000 Match in Support of Circle of Hope Tour

Tonight, Thursday the 15th, at 7PM CDT, we will be rebroadcasting Circle of Hope, our special, online tour of The Refuge Ranch. If you missed the chance to see our mission in action during the first showing, we hope you’ll be able to join for the rebroadcast.

The Refuge for DMST Board of Directors is matching all donations made in support of Circle of Hope, up to $50,000. If you can’t make it to the online event, we hope you will still donate now to help us meet our $50,000 match.

Help child sex trafficking survivors; come virtually tour the nation’s largest residential treatment community

During Circle of Hope, you will witness our mission in action through the eyes of Kiara, a representative child survivor of sex trafficking, as she makes her journey from her first day at the ranch, to her transition back out into the world. Join us for the Circle of Hope rebroadcast on October 15th at 7 PM CDT.

The goal of The Refuge is to provide the best care available for child survivors. Our hope is that The Refuge treatment model will be known as the Mayo Clinic, or the MD Anderson for DMST treatment. Come learn about The Refuge Circle of Care™ that was developed to address the complex trauma, PTSD, anxiety and depression that is unique to children who have been sex trafficked.

Purchase your tickets today for the Circle of Hope tour and you will be helping to provide the very best care available.

Encore: Circle of Hope Rebroadcast on Oct 15!

an evening showing of our online tour

The overwhelmingly warm responses we received for our Circle of Hope online tour of The Refuge Ranch has encouraged us to rebroadcast the event. Many who watched the first showing wrote that they wanted to share our mission with their family and friends. Others emailed to ask for an evening showing. Thank you to everyone who made the first online event a success, and for those who inspired this rebroadcast!
 

Join us for rebroadcast of Circle of Hope, an online tour of The Refuge Ranch on October 15th at 7:00PM CDT.

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Help Spread the Word

If you’ve just recently joined our community, you may not be aware that The Refuge Ranch opened in August of 2018 to meet a crucial gap in care for victims of the fastest growing crime in the world. With 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. Though the ranch is based in Bastrop County, TX, we receive referrals from all over the country.

Besides the many requests for a rebroadcast of the Circle of Hope, we heard several variants of this response:  “Wow, I’ve been following The Refuge from the beginning and I had no idea that your therapeutic programs were so a.) awesome; b.) comprehensive; c.) carefully designed to meet the unique needs of the girls!”

If you missed the first showing, we hope you will join us for the rebroadcast, where you can see our mission in action. During the video tour you won’t see any actual residents, but you can see the everyday hope and healing of The Refuge Ranch.

If you watched the first broadcast and it inspired you, please invite your friends to the second broadcast on Oct 15th!

Click and the email will auto-fill in all the details. Just add your friends' email addresses!

Big News! $150,000 Match in Support of Circle of Hope Tour

The J Campbell Murrell Fund will match all donations made in support of our Circle of Hope tour, up to $150,000.

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invites the public to Circle of Hope, a first-time-ever, online tour of The Refuge Ranch, Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30PM Central. Opened in 2018 with 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

If you can’t make it to the online event today, you can still make a donation today to help us meet our $150,000 match!

Start Making an Impact Today!

We shared a preview of our online tour with advocates. Here's what they had to say.

“The Refuge Ranch is a place like none other. It is a place of healing and sisterhood. It is a place for growth and reflection.  It is a place for girls that have come from incredibly hard places. The Refuge Ranch – a jewel of Texas.”

— The Honorable Darlene Byrne, Judge, 126th Judicial District Court

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“I was lucky to get to visit The Refuge Ranch just as it opened two years ago. I was impressed back then and am grateful to the team at The Refuge for their tireless efforts to serve. I hope everyone watches your new video tour! I loved seeing how The Refuge model has grown and evolved since I walked the property.”

— Katie Olse, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS)

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“This tour is an outstanding view of the restoration The Refuge Ranch is offering survivors. I better understand their experience here and I am excited to continue to support that!”

— Lillian Bocquin, Volunteer

Get tickets here! Your donation will be matched up to $150,000!

THE REFUGE FOR DMST PRESENTS “CIRCLE OF HOPE: A SPECIAL TOUR OF THE REFUGE RANCH”

Online fundraiser gives public never-seen-before tour of the nation’s largest long-term rehabilitation community for child sex trafficking survivors

AUSTIN, TX, September 22, 2020 – The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invites the public to Circle of Hope, a first-time-ever, online tour of The Refuge Ranch, Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30PM Central. Opened in 2018 with 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

To help viewers understand the complex trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression issues that are unique to each child survivor of child sex trafficking, the Circle of Hope online tour of The Refuge Ranch will be seen through the eyes of Kiara, a representative child survivor– from her first day, to her transition back out into the world. (All the young women seen throughout the tour are adult volunteers or actors. No actual residents will be shown.)

Since The Refuge Ranch opened two years ago, very few people have seen the everyday hope and healing taking place at the ranch, outside of the residents and those directly involved in their care. To minimize the disruption in care and to protect the safety and confidentiality of the girls living at The Refuge Ranch, tours of this rehabilitative community have always been limited.

According to the US Justice Department, there are still less than 600 beds available nationwide for child sex trafficking survivors’ long term recovery from trauma. This critical gap in care for victims is caused in large part because federal and state governments mostly concentrate their anti-trafficking efforts on prevention and prosecution.

To fill this gap, Austin, TX-based The Refuge for DMST built the 50-acre, 23-building Refuge Ranch and created The Refuge Circle of Care™, a comprehensive, holistic, trauma-informed treatment program that sensitively surrounds each girl with the services she needs for her individualized healing plan. On-site services include: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor.

“The Refuge is in the hope business and we currently live in a world where there’s a high demand for hope,” said Brooke Crowder, Founder and CEO of The Refuge for DMST. “Our goal is to provide the best care available for survivors of child sex trafficking. To that end, we aspire to be known in near future as the Mayo Clinic of domestic minor sex trafficking treatment. The Refuge model depends upon public support for direct care organizations that provide comprehensive services for child survivors. Come see our mission in action. Purchase a ticket for our online tour and we will keep supplying the hope!”

To purchase tickets for the September 23rd showing of Circle of Hope, click here.

For a press preview of the online tour, please send an email to: press@therefugedmst.org.

About The Refuge for DMST

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed The Refuge Ranch, a long-term, residential, therapeutic community for 48 girls, minors through age 19, who have been recovered from sex traffickers. Built from the ground up on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, TX, The Refuge Ranch provides trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on site, including: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor. The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. For more information, go to www.therefugedmst.org.

REFUGE Talks: Kendall Antonelli

Kendall Antonelli is the Co-owner & President of Antonelli’s Cheese, a beloved cheese shop in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin, Texas. Kendall and her husband John founded the shop in 2010 with a simple mission: “Do Good. Eat Good.” As cheesemongers, they source cheese from hundreds of artisanal producers around the world, and they dedicate themselves to learning and retelling their stories.

During Kendall’s talk, survivors living at The Refuge Ranch got to taste and hear the stories of three cheeses from Dripping Springs, Spain, and Austria!

Kendall also spoke openly with the girls about being a survivor of depression and how that life experience spurs her to be raw and real with everyone she meets—even when she’s talking about cheese! She said many people are surprised to learn about her struggles because of the success she has experienced through her cheese shop. “Success and struggle are the same coin. You can be both at the same time; it doesn’t have to be one or the other,” she shared. Her positive energy in the face of real issues helped her make a great connection with the girls!

Watch her talk now, and get ready to be hungry for cheese!

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch

Come witness our mission in action

We invite you to join us on September 23rd for an open house tour of The Refuge Ranch, the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. 

Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch

Nestled among the Bastrop County pine trees, a 23-building labor of love has risen up from the clay and the sand to meet a dire need. The 50-acre Refuge Ranch opened in August of 2018.

Since then, many girls have come to the ranch for hope and healing. Outside of the residents, staff members and advocates directly involved in the survivors' care, very few people have been inside our gates since we opened. During Circle of Hope, you will witness our mission in action. You won’t see any actual residents, but you will get to see the everyday hope and healing of The Refuge Ranch, as seen through the eyes of a representative child survivor of sex trafficking.

Why a Tour Now?

Because COVID-19 precautions remain in place, we had to cancel our two upcoming fundraisers, the Not On Our Watch luncheon and the Hope Appétit 2021 gala. 

Furthermore, the pandemic has created an elevated need for safe places where a child can heal from her trafficking experience. Our primary goal is to find new ways we can serve more girls in the months to come.  

This is where you come in.

Join us for our first-ever online tour of The Refuge Ranch. Your participation will help support our mission and you will get to see first hand what we do every day to help girls find hope and healing.

Get Your Tickets Today!

Tickets are now available for Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch. 

• Click here now to reserve your front row seats.

• Become a sponsor of this special event. Find out more.

• When: Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 12:30 PM Central Time

• Where: On your computer or phone (but you'll want to use your computer for best viewing)

• Cost: $25 General Admission; $75 for VIP, which includes a Hope Hat of your choice

A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch - September 23rd at 12:30PM CDT. Purchase tickets here.

REFUGE Talks: Liza Donnelly

Liza Donnelly is a cultural and political cartoonist who is best known for her work at The New Yorker. In her forty year career, Liza has contributed, both drawing and writing, to CNN, CBS News, The New York Times and many other publications. In 2005, she published a book called Funny Ladies that chronicles the contributions of female cartoonists at The New Yorker from the magazine’s beginnings in 1925.

Liza is also known for live drawing events. Using her tablet, she draws what she sees and uploads it straight to social media. In 2016, she was the first cartoonist to be granted entry to the Academy Awards. Since then, she has returned every year as the official Oscars cartoonist, and has live drawn many other events, including the Women’s March, presidential debates, The Emmy Awards and The Golden Globes.

When asked about the importance of cartoons as a form of journalism, Liza said, “Sometimes cartoons speak without words, so you can connect to people without words, and I think that’s pretty powerful.”

During her conversation with the girls at The Refuge Ranch, Liza shared why she started drawing, how it helped her find her voice, and how she began her career as a cartoonist.

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

REFUGE Talks: Stephany Powell

Stephany Powell is the Executive Director of Journey Out, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps empower adult survivors of sex trafficking to leave a life of abuse. Through street outreach and running a drop-in center, Journey Out is able to meet adult survivors where they are and offer services. They employ survivors on their crisis response team, so victims are able to talk to someone and seek services from someone who deeply understands their situation.

Journey Out also works directly with law enforcement in LA to provide care once a victim is identified, which gives Stephany a unique capability to lead the organization, as she served as an officer with LAPD for over 30 years, working in many different departments. During her time as Sergeant of the Vice department, Stephany began to see that women working as prostitutes had more complex situations than police officers at that time were trained to understand. Today, she is better equipped to help victims of sex trafficking because she can collaborate with and provide training to police officers with an authority that comes from a firm understanding of their experience as law enforcement.

We first met Stephany last year when she came to Austin for a Links Incorporated regional conference that began with an anti-trafficking march and rally at City Hall.

See this Spectrum News story, for their coverage of that event, plus their interviews with Sophia Strother and Allie Franklin.

In Stephany’s talk with survivors living at The Refuge Ranch, she shared details about her journey, from a being a teen who got kicked out of two high schools on the same day, to earning her PhD while performing her duties on the LAPD Vice squad, to her career advocating for others now with Journey Out.

“Our kids are not for sale. No, they’re not,” chanted members of The Links, Incorporated, at rally they organized at Austin City Hall in June 2019, to raise awareness around sex trafficking.

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

REFUGE Talks: Meredith Harper Houston

Meredith Harper Houston is the Founder and Chair of The Swan Within, a nonprofit that teaches therapeutic ballet to empower incarcerated teen girls who have experienced trauma, abuse and sex trafficking. Founded in 2015, The Swan Within now brings therapeutic dance classes to every juvenile detention center in Los Angeles. Through the program, girls are empowered to find strength and grace in their bodies.

As a survivor of childhood abuse, Meredith’s goal in founding The Swan Within was to help girls like herself have the coping mechanism that she used as a child—dance. Dancing was a way to get out of the house and away from her abuser, and it also helped her cope with her physical trauma. Many victims of sexual assault experience a bodily disassociation as a way to survive trauma, and reconnecting with their own physicality is challenging, but healing work. As a classically trained ballerina, Meredith learned to focus attention into every muscle, allowing her to feel present in her own body.

In this joyous talk with all the girls living at The Refuge Ranch, Meredith shared parts of her story, and explained how dance helped her to become resilient.

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Love + Action: How we've adapted and how you can help

By Brooke Crowder, Founder and CEO, The Refuge for DMST™

“You are loved!”

This photograph and the one above were both shot by one of the residents. After taking a photography class, several of the girls have grown to be ardent shutterbugs. This particular Dove Tile, from a cottage kitchen back splash, seems to be a favorite subject.

Though the coronavirus pandemic still impacts our daily lives, The Refuge remains firm in our commitment to continue to provide 24/7 comprehensive care and services to young trafficking survivors.

Back in March, we moved swiftly to put new guidelines in place to protect the health and well-being of our staff and girls. For a brief period, we halted new placements of girls while we created innovative intake protocols, utilizing The Haven cottage on our campus to assure the safety of the girls and staff already at The Refuge Ranch. Thankfully, we are happy to share that starting in early May we resumed taking in new placements of girls in need of our care.

We are acutely aware that we cannot stop providing services or layoff staff during this challenging time. Since this pandemic is creating an elevated need in our community and state-wide for safe places where a child can heal from her trafficking experience, we need to figure out how we can serve more girls in the months to come.

To ensure we maintain our high standards of care, retain staff and continue welcoming new girls to The Refuge Ranch, we have taken the following measures to ensure financial sustainability:

1. We quickly filed and received funding in the first round of the Federal Cares Act- PPP Loan/Grant Program.

2. We developed an even more stringent 2020 budget that still allows us to maintain a high level of care and current child-to-staff ratio.

3. We put new policies in place to help cut down on expenditures which can be delayed during these challenging times.

4. We revamped our food and supplies purchase process with a new vendor. To date, we’ve seen a 30% decrease in our monthly costs in these areas.

 
Our highest priority has always been and continues to be to provide the very best care possible for the girls living at The Refuge Ranch. We have examined new ways of operating in this season of COVID-19, while maintaining excellence in every area of our organization. I do believe that this unforeseen challenge has made us a stronger organization. With that said, I am concerned. While we always forecast for lower donations in the late spring and summer months, this summer will be our most daunting to date.

This pandemic has caused havoc on the financial markets and pocketbooks of everyone, and there is a lot of fear and uncertainty, no matter the size of the pocketbook. Please know that we understand, and we cherish our relationship with you regardless of your ability to give during these uncertain times. If you have been impacted financially and need to adjust or pause your current pledge to us, please respond to this email.

We are often asked, “What can I do to help The Refuge?” In response, here are three ways you can help us:

• PRAY: The staff at The Refuge cannot do the challenging work we do without being lifted up in prayer. To join hundreds around the world praying for trafficked children, please visit Lions Roar 24/7.

• PLEDGE: Our primary need is to have monthly donors to help with our cashflow. Any amount will have a tremendous impact. Please click here to see an array of pocketbook-friendly options.

• PROMOTE: As mentioned earlier, the need to provide comprehensive services to trafficked children continues to grow. To help spread the word about The Refuge, click here for some creative ways to share our mission with your family and friends.

I am grateful to you for loving and caring for the girls who need The Refuge. I am also grateful to you for your partnership with us. Together, we built The Refuge and together we will tenaciously work to sustain The Refuge.

About The Refuge for DMST

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed The Refuge Ranch, a long-term, residential, therapeutic community for 48 girls, minors through age 19, who have been rescued out of sex trafficking. Built from the ground up on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, TX, The Refuge Ranch provides trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on site, including: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor. The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

REFUGE Talks: Wande

Our latest REFUGE Talk was with hip hop artist Wande, the first female artist to be signed to Reach Records, joining the Christian rap ranks of Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Tedashii and more.

The girls at The Refuge Ranch loved hearing Wande’s story of how she started rapping because of a biology assignment in high school. Since then, she’s been chasing her goal of becoming a hip hop artist. Her first album, EXIT, was released in April and is available everywhere.

Some of the girls at The Refuge Ranch who are interested in writing their own music asked Wande about her writing process and if she would rap for them. On the spot, she dove straight into several verses:

I'm going somewhere farther than I can imagine // Living proof that when you got faith anything can happen // Yeah I know you shocked // And didn't expect to hear me rapping // But I bet in a few seconds // You gon' really feel like clapping

After that, two of the girls confidently volunteered to sing for her on the call. To protect their identities, we can’t play that part for you, but both girls blew us away with their powerful voices. After belting out her song, one girl then asked Wande if she would sign them to her label! Wande encouraged them to keep pursuing their goals and gave them practical advice for writing and recording.

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Watch Wande’s full talk now!

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

REFUGE Talks: Laura Boykin

Our latest REFUGE Talk is with a scientist who helps farmers in East Africa. Laura Boykin is the Co-Founder and Director of the Cassava Virus Action Project, an organization that brings compact DNA testing out to farmers in the field. With this technology, farmers are able to find out what is making their crops sick and how to re-plant for a healthier harvest that can feed their families and bring in an income.

Laura told the girls at The Refuge Ranch that she was never interested in science until she was required to get a job to maintain her college basketball scholarship. The job she landed was in an herbarium, gluing dead plants to paper. As she dove further into the work, she fell in love with the team-aspect of science because it reminded her of basketball. Now, she champions the importance of diversity in science.

“So many cool innovations come when everyone is at the table… More diverse teams are more productive, solve bigger problems, have bigger dreams!”

She gave advice for any girls who would like to pursue a career in STEM, encouraging them that the work is so much more exciting once you’re out of school, and to push through because “nobody can ever take your education away from you.”

We hope her words of encouragement help the girls at The Refuge visualize their future and see all the opportunities that could be available to them!

Watch Laura’s talk now!

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.

HOPE EMPORIUM: A ROUND UP OF INSPIRATION

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL!

WEATHER CAT: A meteorologist’s cat bombed his at-home forecast. Now Betty is his beloved co-host.

“Meteorologist Jeff Lyons set up a green screen in his living room and has been giving weather forecasts from home during the lockdown. And though he usually broadcasts alone, he's gotten a new partner to share the weather with—his cat, Betty.”

SIDEWALK ADVENTURE: Mom Makes Quarantine Life Fun For Her Kids With Interactive Chalk Art

This mom took simple sidewalk chalk to the next level! What kind of scene would you create?

STEP OUTSIDE: National Parks educational resources for kids

These resources for kids will give your whole family something to look forward to! Watch educational videos and download activities you can do with the whole family.

LEARNING WITHOUT LIMITS: School districts are transforming buses into wifi hotspots for students without internet

School districts across the country, including here in Austin, TX, are taking internet straight to students so they can continue to engage with their teachers virtually!

SOME GOOD NEWS with John Krasinski Ep 5. Potluck with Guy Fieri, Martha Stewart, David Chang, and Stanley Tucci

We can’t get enough of Some Good News! In this episode, John shares art from fans of his show and hosts a virtual potluck with some of his friends.

REFUGE TALKS: Bringing hope and healing straight to the girls at The Refuge

If you haven’t explored the rest of our blog, take a look at our REFUGE Talks, a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care!

REFUGE Talks: Simidele Adeagbo

Photo Courtesy of Getty Sport

What happens when your big dream is dashed? Just for example, say your goal in life was to participate in the Summer Olympics, but you don’t ultimately qualify to represent your nation at the upcoming games -- what do you do? Do you just let the dream die, then tuck your medals into your scrapbook with your junior prom photos?

If you are Simidele Adeagbo you learn a new sport in 100 days so you can compete in the Winter Olympics. And the sport she chose, the skeleton, involves jumping onto a small bobsled, then barreling face down, head-first through an ice chute down a mountain side at 80-100 miles per hour. In 2018, Simidele made Olympic history at the Winter Games, as the first Nigerian Winter Olympian, and the first African and black woman to compete in skeleton at the Olympics.

She is also our next guest speaker on REFUGE Talks!

During her chat with the girls, Simidele shared that first place isn't always the "first" that matters. Sometimes, the first that matters most is the one that blazes a trail for others.

Watch Episode 5 of REFUGE Talks!

REFUGE Talks is a series of uplifting video conference calls between great performers, doers and thinkers and the girls in our care. We hope these segments from our series will not just inspire the girls recovering at The Refuge Ranch, but will help the whole world find a place of hope and healing.