Stepping Stones (Human Trafficking Awareness Club) was selected by Oakton High School to receive a 2016 Student Peace Award of Fairfax County.  For fourteen years this organization has honored high school students who have promoted peace or worked to remove the causes of violence such as injustice, discrimination, and poverty.  The 22 recipients, consisting of both individuals and groups, were honored at a public reception on March 13.

The goal of Stepping Stones is to raise awareness of human trafficking.  They work closely with Just Ask, a Northern Virginia based organization that combats human trafficking in schools.  They have also made contact with multiple experts in the field including non-profits and the police service.

Stepping Stones sponsored an awareness week to educate students and help them consider ways to assist students who are victims of human trafficking.  Students received candy with facts about human trafficking attached to them and Just Ask bracelets.   Junior Scottie Tran reports that “by the end of the awareness week, nearly everyone in the school was wearing one of the bracelets and talking about human trafficking; an issue many students had not known about previously.” and Junior Linda Lyons notes that “Many students continue to wear the bracelets.”   Stepping Stones also worked with nine other school clubs to collect over 1,000 cans of food for five locations, including Alternative House, a home for trafficking victims and other teens in need.

To encourage students to be mindful of trafficking victims, the club set up a poster which asked, “How would you help a sex trafficking victim?”  Many students wrote very positive responses. This fostered a sense of community, letting victims know their peers care about them and encouraging them to step forward and ask for help.

The organization of Stepping Stones consists of a teacher sponsor, five student leaders, and 35 student members. Most of the members are juniors and seniors.  Mary Brady is the teacher sponsor, and the student leaders are Rosie Cheong, Britney Phan, Scottie Tran, and Linda Lyons (all juniors) and Yenni Tran (a sophomore).

“This issue is close to my heart,” says College and Career Center Specialist Jenny Collins.   “The students have done amazing work.  Their hope is to not only bring awareness and promote justice in regards to this issue, but also to encourage restoration and peace for those who have been victims.”