Stories

When it comes to health, your ZIP code makes a bigger difference than your genetic code — especially in Charlotte, where people have a harder time rising out of poverty than in most other U.S. cities.

The American Heart Association wants to change this. In addition to their renowned research and signature charity events, AHA is determined to empower people in underserved Queen City communities with access to heart healthcare and prevention.

You probably know the stats by now.

70% of U.S. adults are overweight, and 40% of those are obese.

Staggering numbers, yes.

And they’re only getting worse.

What immediately comes to mind when you think of human necessities?

Water? Definitely.
Food? Absolutely.
Hygiene products? Sure thing.

What about blood? Did that make the list? If it didn’t, it should have.

Before I wrote this article, my understanding of human trafficking was limited to what I had seen in movies like Taken and Crash. Needless to say, I had a lot of learning to do.

Present Age Ministries opened my eyes to the reality of human trafficking. As a mother of a daughter and as a Charlottean, I was stunned to learn that it's prevalent, it's pervasive, and it's happening right in front of our eyes - to girls in every ZIP code in this community.

February is American Heart Month and heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. It is important to help spread the word about not only the risks, but also the solutions. The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented and awareness is the first step! 

My daughter ran down the hill to the ice cream truck with her piggy bank tucked under her arm like a football, me a few paces behind her. Once I arrived a bit out of breath. I smiled at the two female neighbors and the man they were with. I’d seen them before, but never all at the same time.

Written by Grant Stimmel

Like animals in a zoo, but worse.

You wait for your number to be called. 

17. 34. 92. One by one the other girls leave…

Then it is just you. Number 146. 

Nameless, alone, you await your bidder. Then, finally, you are called. Escorted from the glass room, your dress hangs loose. You are 11-years-old, and only beginning the worst night of your life. Only this happened last night, too. And the night before that. Tomorrow, there will be more of the same.

Did you know that Charlotte is the #1 city in NC and #7 city in the nation for human trafficking activity? Stunned? Hold on. There’s more. A girl is bought and sold every 15 seconds for an average cost of $90. That means, by the time you finished reading that statistic, one girl has been forced into human trafficking. By the time you finish reading this article… well. You do the math. 

Human trafficking can sound like a humanitarian heartstring issue, pulling on the fringe of society, and before meeting a victim - a college student who was coerced into what was advertised as a modeling agency career photo shoot - I coldly dismissed sex trafficking as the modern-day term for prostitution. I quickly realized this is real life where people are preyed upon, often drugged and abused. 

Local nonprofit organization Playing for Others (PFO) believes that the two most important questions we can ask in our lifetime are “Who Am I?” and “How will I give of that?”