{"id":151239,"date":"2026-10-08T22:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T02:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151239"},"modified":"2026-10-08T22:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T02:39:41","slug":"bloom-for-women-welcomes-thistle-farms-founder-becca-stevens-as-keynote-speaker-for-4th-annual-freedom-benefit-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151239","title":{"rendered":"Bloom for Women Welcomes Thistle Farms Founder Becca Stevens as Keynote Speaker for 4th Annual Freedom Benefit Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"
Event will Support Healing and Opportunity for Survivors<\/i><\/div>\n
of Sex Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
EASTON, PA \u2014 October 8, 2026<\/b> \u2014 Bloom<\/u><\/b><\/a> will host its 4th Annual Freedom Benefit Dinner on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Lehigh University\u2019s Iacocca Center. The evening will bring together community members and supporters to raise critical funds for Bloom\u2019s mission of providing sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower, and employ survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.<\/div>\n
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This year\u2019s keynote speaker is Becca Stevens, founder and president of Thistle Farms<\/u><\/b><\/a>,<\/b> a Nashville-based organization dedicated to helping women survivors heal and rebuild their lives. Bloom is a sister community of Thistle Farms, making Stevens\u2019 participation especially meaningful to the organization and its supporters.<\/div>\n
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A nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, priest, survivor, and author, Stevens brings three decades of experience in mission-driven work. She has founded 13 nonprofits and justice enterprises, mentored another 70, and raised more than $90 million to support their work. She has authored 12 books and served as chaplain at St. Augustine\u2019s Chapel on Vanderbilt University\u2019s campus for nearly 35 years.<\/div>\n
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Stevens has been featured on PBS NewsHour, the Today Show, CNN, and ABC World News. Named a CNN Hero and a White House Champion of Change, she also holds seven honorary doctorates. Her message centers on the belief that love is the strongest force for change in the world\u2014a message closely connected to Bloom\u2019s work with survivors in the Lehigh Valley.<\/div>\n
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The event is graciously hosted by Olav and Gina Sandnes for the fourth year. Funds raised through the Freedom Benefit Dinner will help sustain Bloom\u2019s residential programs, survivor services, and employment opportunities, providing women with the safety, support, and resources they need as they move toward healing and independence.<\/div>\n
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Bloom gratefully recognizes the sponsors whose generosity makes this year\u2019s event possible:<\/div>\n
Visionary Sponsors:<\/b> The Topper Foundation; Oceana Health; Bill & Denise Spence; J.B. & Kathleen Reilly<\/div>\n
Builder Sponsors:<\/b> Russ & Roberta Lay; Stark Financial; Sharon & Roland Yoshida<\/div>\n
Sustainer Sponsors:<\/b> Affiliated Financial Planners; Bob Scott Kitchens<\/div>\n
Partner Sponsors:<\/b> Carol Gray; First Northern Bank & Trust; Gregory & Kristina Barkey; Hill I Fenstermaker LLC; Allan & Elise Fischer; James & Denise Jacobsen; TL Solutions<\/div>\n
Friend Sponsor:<\/b> PNC Bank<\/div>\n
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For information about attending or supporting the Freedom Benefit Dinner, click here<\/u><\/b><\/a>. For photos and graphics, visit: Link to Photos & Graphics<\/u><\/b><\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
About Bloom<\/b><\/div>\n
Bloom for Women, Inc.<\/u><\/b><\/a> <\/b>is a faith-based nonprofit providing sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower, and employ survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. Based in Pennsylvania\u2019s Lehigh Valley, Bloom offers emergency response, residential programs, outreach services, and prevention education. Survivors also gain job training and employment through Bloom\u2019s workforce development initiatives, including the PA 211 Fellowship Program and social enterprises such as Bloom Creative Studio, My Sister\u2019s Closet, and Grounds for Restoration Coffee. Bloom is a sister community of the nationally recognized Thistle Farms program in Nashville. Learn more at www.bloomforwomen.org<\/u><\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/div>\n
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Information provided to TVL by:
\nKaren Higgins<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Event will Support Healing and Opportunity for Survivors of Sex Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation \u00a0 EASTON, PA \u2014 October 8, 2026 \u2014 Bloom will host its 4th Annual Freedom Benefit Dinner on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Lehigh University\u2019s Iacocca Center. The evening will bring together community members and supporters to raise … Continue reading Bloom for Women Welcomes Thistle Farms Founder Becca Stevens as Keynote Speaker for 4th Annual Freedom Benefit Dinner<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bloom.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151240,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151239\/revisions\/151240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}