Group fighting human trafficking receives Soroptimist service award

First Place — The Northwest Coalition Against Trafficking was awarded the 2011 Community Service Award by Soroptimist International of Olympia. The annual service awards are given to organizations that support the Soroptimist mission of improving the lives of women and girls locally and throughout the world. Past recipients have included the YWCA, the Tronie Foundation and SafePlace. “We believe the work of NWCAT helps to shed light on modern-day slavery that is occurring in our communities, and supports efforts to ensure women and girls live safe, happy and productive lives,” Alyson Cummings, SI Olympia president, said. NWCAT, a coalition of supporters working to inform, educate, and protect women and girls from human labor and sex trafficking, was founded by three Soroptimist clubs in Clark County in 2009. In 2010, NWCAT launched a Survivors’ Network, and now has helped more than 20 survivors and family members of victims. For more information, visit http://www.nwcat.org.