Feb. 11, 2015

By Kimberly Wethal

Giving back to a charitable cause has never been quite so sweet.

On February 9, 10 and 12 from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. in the University Center, the student organizations the Freedom Force and Students Allied for a Green Earth (SAGE) will be teaming up to sell eco-friendly sugar scrubs, with all proceeds going to Love146, a global organization against child sex trafficking.

The sale will not occur on the Feb 11 due to the Spring Involvement Fair.

Senior Cassie Steiner, President of Freedom Force, stated this sale is a first-time event, but could continue on an annual basis if it goes well.

“Part of [the reason to start it] was Valentine’s Day,” Steiner said. “It’s something positive to do for someone they love, whether it’s friends, themselves or a loved one that they’re in a relationship with.”

The jars of apple-cinnamon scented sugar scrub are packaged in upcycled jars, many of which were donated by the parents of children who spend the day at the university day care facility, and have sugar used as an environment-friendly exfoliant in place of plastic microbeads that are commonly found in manufactured scrubs.

In the continuation of the eco-friendly theme, the apple cinnamon scent is naturally made with applesauce and cinnamon.

The jars of sugar scrub vary in size, and don’t have a set price, but rather a donation amount is suggested in order to fit the budget of a college student.

Steiner stressed the importance of donating to an anti-child sex trafficking agency because the crime’s prevalence in communities that have a close proximity to campus.

“It’s important to start having conversations about human trafficking, because a lot of people don’t realize that it happens here,” Steiner said. “Last January, there was actually a 14-year-old girl who was trafficked from Whitewater to Janesville and [was] held in a prostitution house for a month and was able to escape.”

“It does happen here, and it does happen close to home, and it is something I believe we can make a difference in,” she said.

All of the jar labels will include information about human trafficking, along with brochures and literature about the crime stationed at the table that students can pick up.

Steiner hopes that students will use the information given out at sugar scrub sale as a way to use their voices and empower themselves and their peers to speak out against human trafficking.

“I really hope the campus gets excited about an opportunity to not only help the environment, but to help people in their community and around the world,” Steiner said.