Fox Valley-based non-profit looks to raise awareness & combat trafficking ahead of NFL Draft

Yahoo

13-04-2025

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – As excitement builds for the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, a local nonprofit is urging the community to remember the dangers that large-scale events could bring.
Damascus Road, an anti-human trafficking organization based in the Fox Valley, launched a region-wide outreach effort Friday called 'Blitz the Draft,' a campaign aimed at raising awareness and preventing trafficking ahead of the event.
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Volunteers gathered in Oshkosh at Damascus Road's office for training before fanning out to gas stations and hotels across the Fox Valley, from Oshkosh up to Kaukauna.
Armed with missing children posters, trafficking awareness cards, and hotline numbers, they spoke with staff at businesses and left materials in high-traffic areas.
'Today we are blitzing the Fox Valley before the draft with information about missing kids and human trafficking awareness,' said Terra Koslowski, Education and Engagement Director at Damascus Road. 'Anytime there is an event that brings a large number of people to an area, there's always a potential for increased crime—and human trafficking is one of those risks.'
The goal is simple: make more people aware of what trafficking looks like, and how they can help stop it.
'We're hoping businesses will put up our posters and maybe even give us some tips if they've seen any of the kids we're looking for,' Koslowski added. 'If a child who's been trafficked ends up in this area, someone might recognize them.'
Among the volunteers was Dennis Tegrootenhuis of Winneconne, who says the issue is personal for him.
'I just look at the most vulnerable in our society,' he said. 'We have a responsibility as a community to keep people safe. This kind of outreach is crucial—it opens people's eyes.'
Tegrootenhuis said he's become more alert to the signs of trafficking, especially while traveling.
'Every truck stop I stop at, I just look for something that doesn't belong,' he said. 'You see a guy walking into a hotel with a young girl who's not smiling, not bubbly—say something.'
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Since 2017, Damascus Road has helped more than 700 survivors of human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation through jail outreach, victim services, and community education.
The organization encourages anyone who suspects human trafficking to report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
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