The School of the Arts’ Student Council is utilizing the Lead4Change Leadership Curriculum to make a difference in the community. The curriculum allows student leaders to invest in initiatives that will make an impact in the community. The SOA Student Council Leadership Team, headed by Cody Keith and Tim Denney, chose to focus on Human Trafficking Awareness in Ohio, which currently ranks fourth in the United States for the number of reported human trafficking cases.
To kick off the campaign, the School of the Arts recently hosted several guest speakers including Agent Brian Phillips from the United States Secret Service, Elise Roddy from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Officer Chuck O’Bryon, Fairfield Township Campus’ School Resource Officer, and Ryan Berg, CEO and Cofounder of The Aruna Project, which is a premium athleisure brand “creating lifelong freedom for survivors of human trafficking through employment.” The group
This campaign will involve students within the School of the Arts who would like to volunteer their time to make posters and place them in the 11 districts that Butler Tech School of the Arts serves. Students understand that Human Trafficking involves both sex and labor trafficking. They chose to focus their energies on awareness as Ohio is a hub for Human Trafficking due to the presence of both large urban and rural areas, a large transient and immigrant population, and five major highways allowing for easy access to other states and even Canada.
The campaign will run from March to May 2023.