"To work in the social enterprise for me has meant the world. It’s taken me off of the streets into doing something positively, giving back. It's taken me from being broke to having a new life. It's given me confidence." - Survivor Leader
The Wings of Refuge partnership between ONE MORE and Taylored Expressions has taken sex trafficking survivors off the street and is giving them a way to impact their community. Watch this video to find out how it has impacted a survivor.
ONE MORE is the social enterprise that operates under Wings of Refuge. It exists to provide survivors with a trauma-sensitive work environment, an opportunity to earn income with dignity, and a chance to gain valuable work skills. This year has been a year of incredible growth for the social enterprise. We had the opportunity to attend the Ankeny Farmers Market and a few other vendor fairs. These events have allowed us to raise awareness of sex trafficking, share about Wings of Refuge, and have resulted in more product sales to support our women. We have also had the opportunity to expand social enterprise through offering limited online sales. Both of our online pop-up shops have been successful and have expanded our reach greatly. Our hope is to continue offering online sale opportunities in the new year. Make sure to check our social media pages to hear about upcoming social enterprise events! Another way in which we have expanded our social enterprise is through incorporating new products. Thanks to our partner Oak Lane Candle Co., we were able to offer two seasonal candles in addition to our signature candle scents this year. Alpaca hats were wildly successful last winter so we have decided to make them a staple every cold season! We have also begun producing greeting cards in partnership with Taylored Expressions. Taylored Expressions is a local paper shop that also offers rubber stamps, dies, and stencils. TE has graciously provided us with products and card designs that our survivors are then able to create. In 2023, we will be gaining a new partnership and hence, a new product! Simply Sarah Nicole Jewelry is a local artist who creates clay earrings. She has offered to help us set up a workspace and teach the survivors how to make clay earrings. We plan to offer two designs in the beginning and expand our offerings as we are able to! The most important way we have expanded ONE MORE is by hiring and promoting one of our survivors to a leadership position within the social enterprise. She takes great pride in her work and is deeply grateful for the opportunity that ONE MORE has given her. She brings such value to our team!
by: Julia Craighead, Social Enterprise Coordinator
