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Resale Boutique Provides Funding to Support and Employment Opportunities for Women Survivors of Sex Trafficking in the Lehigh Valley
Bloom for Women, Inc. is holding a Grand Opening celebration for its women’s upscale, resale boutique My Sister’s Closet. After 14 years, My Sister’s Closet has moved to a new location in the Bethlehem Village Shoppes (3650 Nazareth Pike, Suite 13 in Bethlehem). This new location will provide the need retail and storage and preparation space for the clothing and accessory donations. It also offers visibility from the road and more foot traffic to help the boutique grow its business and help support Bloom’s mission to provide sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking.
The event will include a Ribbon-cutting Ceremony at 1:00 p.m. with brief comments from Bloom’s CEO, Carol Andersen, a survivor of sex trafficking and local dignitaries. The store will be open from 10 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. to shop, offering discounts, raffle items and refreshments.
Bloom for Women, Inc. is a non-profit organization offering sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking. As part of its mission, Bloom operates a 24-hour care emergency stabilization home, a two-year residential program, and two independent-living transitional homes in the Lehigh Valley. Bloom follows the model and is a sister community of the remarkably successful Thistle Farms Nashville program. In addition, Bloom operates two social enterprises to help fulfill its mission and provide employment opportunities to survivors: My Sister’s Closet and the Bloom Creative Studio located in Bangor, Pa., which leverages art as a healing tool and offers a gift shop, DIY crafts, pottery and glass fusion.
After drug trafficking, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. There are an estimated 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally and sex trafficking makes about $99 billion a year. It is happening right here in the Lehigh Valley.
WHEN: Saturday, April 9, 2022
1:00 p.m. – Ribbon-cutting Ceremony
Store open all day (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
WHERE: My Sister’s Closet
3650 Nazareth Pike, Suite 13, Bethlehem
(in the Bethlehem Village Shoppes)
Information Provided By:
Karen Higgins
Bloom for Women, Inc.
