New Event to Help Stop Human Trafficking

Quad Cities – The Quad Cities Lodging Association are partnering with Braking Traffik on a new event on Thursday, January 28, 2016, at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center in Rock Island, Ill.  With the theme “Mission: Possible”, the event at 5:30 p.m. includes dinner, silent auction, raffle, and brief program.  Tickets can be purchased at www.qclodging.org

Braking Traffik is a non-profit organization that works to eradicate sex trafficking in the Quad Cities area.  The Quad Cities Lodging Association is the voice of the lodging industry in the Quad Cities and works with the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau to identify, solicit, and fund events that benefits its members and the Quad Cities area.

“We think this new partnership is a great fit to help grow community awareness of human trafficking,” said Carole Coykendall, president of the Quad Cities Lodging Association.  “We do not want to be known as a community that tolerates trafficking.  We want to be a safe environment for a successful and growing Quad Cities.”

“No community is immune to sex trafficking, and education is key to ending this form of modern day slavery,” said Cathy O’Keeffe, Executive Director of Braking Traffik.  “Hotels are targeted by traffickers for their convenient location, or because they are the preferred location for the buyers, not because they are mismanaged.  Therefore, it is imperative that all hotels receive human trafficking training to ensure a safe environment.”

In addition to this event, the Quad Cities Lodging Association will work with Braking Traffik to provide training to local hotel staff in order to recognize the signs of human trafficking.

O’Keeffe says, “Braking Traffik is thrilled to partner with the Quad Cities Lodging Association to expand the hotel awareness program we started with Davenport Rotary, to provide training to all Quad Cities hotels.”