ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now announces new community outreach coordinator
By From staff reports
Published in News on June 13, 2018 5:50 AM
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Melinda Sampson
FARMVILLE -- ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now recently announced the hiring of Melinda Sampson as the organization's new community outreach coordinator.
Sampson, a Farmville native, graduated from East Carolina University in 2009 with a bachelor of arts in communication.
She spent nearly seven years in the journalism industry, beginning as an editor for a weekly publication in Belhaven in 2011.
In 2013, she became the associate editor for the bi-weekly newspaper in Williamston.
By 2014, she was offered a position as an assistant editor for the Goldsboro News-Argus where she helped guide community news coverage in Wayne County.
In her career as a journalist, she was able to examine social, economic and cultural issues -- specifically the plight of migrant farmworkers in the fields of eastern North Carolina.
In 2014, she visited several migrant farmworker camps in Wilson, Wayne and Lenoir counties.
At these camps, she listened to the stories of farmworkers who came to the country under false promises and were forced or coerced into working.
It was through those migrant farmworkers' stories that her interest in human trafficking in eastern North Carolina was born.
As community outreach coordinator, Sampson will be working with various industries to further raise awareness about the warning signs of human trafficking and will be assisting in the development of initiatives and training opportunities that will facilitate in the ultimate goal of eradication of human trafficking in North Carolina.
"I look forward to developing strong relationships within Eastern North Carolina to help spread awareness about the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking," Sampson said. "The issue itself is broader in scope than many people realize.
"I hope to be a valuable asset to ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now through developing a network of community partnerships to help raise awareness about the pervasive and unjust practices of enslavement for profit."
ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now Founder Pam Strickland said Sampson will be an integral part in the development of outreach programs in the eastern part of North Carolina and is enthusiastic about expanding the message and the mission of ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now.
"I'm very excited to have Melinda come on board, so we can be out in the community even more," Strickland said.
"Her background in journalism, her enthusiasm and her energy will be an asset to our nonprofit."
For more information about ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now's initiatives, outreach and training programs, contact Sampson at 252-717-4961 or melinda@encstophumantrafficking.org.
On June 26, Eastern North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking Now will host a free training, Human Trafficking 101, from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., at Sheppard Memorial Library, 503 Evans St., Greenville.
The event will include information about human trafficking in North Carolina, how to spot signs of human trafficking and information on how to report suspicion of human trafficking.
Registration is required and interested participants can email kari@encstophumantrafficking.org. A light supper will be provided and certificate of completion will be available.
Eastern North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking Now is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that desires to create a community that actively works toward abolishing human trafficking locally and globally.
ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now desires to create a community that understands the tragedy of human trafficking and seeks to be part of the solution through community empowerment.
The organization offers education on the reality of sex and labor trafficking in eastern North Carolina and the world, expands local markets for fairly traded items produced without coerced or exploitative labor practices; encourages legislators, law enforcement and the public to contribute the fight to end human trafficking; and collaborates with supporting local, national and international anti-trafficking and victim-assistance efforts.
For more information about its mission or how to become involved in the fight against human trafficking, visit www.encstophumantrafficking.org.