Frequently Asked Questions
WHo are we?
Founded in 2017, The Little Tree Project, LLC started as a humble small business where three young women, Kristi, Andrea, and Allana, decided to come together to fight the horror that is human trafficking. Without much experience and means to do so, the women started raising funds and awareness for the fight by utilizing their gifts in art and pastry arts and selling their products through an e-commerce website, local farmers markets, and “pop-up shops.”
This opened the door for them and planted seeds of awareness in their community of South Alabama. They began getting requests to speak and spread awareness in schools and house parties.
Having raised thousands of dollars, The Little Tree Project has been able to support 501c3 anti-human trafficking organizations such as The A21 Campaign and Eye Heart World who are on the front lines fighting against modern day slavery.
The Little Tree Project grew into a social enterprise standing for freedom and purpose through the sale of thoughtfully made goods featuring other artisans. These artisans are employed survivors and/or at-risk of human exploitation, abuse, and/or trafficking. Little Tree also partners with ethical creators and artisans with their own philanthropic mission of freedom.
For the past two years, The Little Tree Project has partnered with Eye Heart World, an organization located in Mobile, Alabama and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Our organization has assisted in the launching of their resource center for adult female survivors of sex trafficking, The Rose Center as well as assisting in the coordination of their “In Her Shoes Gala” of 2018. Doing so has helped our Director, Allana, gain vital knowledge and first hand experience in the local issue of human trafficking.
Upon parting with the Rose Center in August of 2019 to begin the process of becoming a 501c3, The Little Tree Project was contacted by a generous team of consultants in Kingsport, TN, led by Sarah Hunt. As a highly successful launcher and advisor to many nonprofits, Sarah has over thirty years of experience and wisdom qualifying her to be a trusted and valued member of the Little Tree Project team of advisors.
Since her team’s involvement, The Little Tree Project has made leaps and bounds in its process to achieving its goals of becoming a successful nonprofit. The organization is now a Sister Organization to Thistle Farms, a highly successful global anti-human trafficking organization with an extremely similar model. The organization is also now a member of the National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance, has received five thousand in funding, become an official 501c3, and has multiple renowned board members.
The Little Tree Project was founded in 2017 with this future in mind - a nonprofit providing long term aftercare and economic empowerment to survivors of exploitation. In this model, we look to provide safe housing, education, therapy, job opportunities, and much more to survivors in their healing journeys.
WHat is our purpose?
Our mission at the Little Tree Project is to globally eradicate human trafficking through the prevention, rehabilitation, and restoration for survivors of any form of trafficking and exploitation. Currently headquartered in Fairhope, Alabama, our aim is to provide hope, purpose, and healing through a holistic continuum of aftercare and job opportunities.
We strive to address the extensive issue of modern day slavery through providing victims an opportunity to become prosperous survivors, thriving in a life of holistic freedom. Our trauma-informed aftercare will include services such as education, job training and placement, financial assistance, health-care, specialized counseling, housing, and most of all, love, so that survivors of trafficking will be empowered to walk through a safe journey to healing and independence.
Through prevention programs, individualized trauma-informed aftercare, residential housing, and living-wage job opportunities, The Little Tree project envisions a future of a lasting global change in the issue of human trafficking by expanding to many locations with its proven model and mission for restoring hope and purpose to the broken.
After survivors take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Little Tree Project, they shall be equipped financially, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually to enter into a life of independence and liberty.
How do we Raise Awareness and Funds?
Are we a Faith-based Organization?
We raise awareness globally by posting statistics about the reality of modern day slavery to social media. Locally we raise awareness by partnering with Trafficking Hope and speaking in local schools, churches, and other venues throughout our community.
We raise funds by selling our very own products as well as artisanal hand-crafted items made by survivors of trafficking. As a 501c3 non-profit, we are also making progress in gaining funding through fundraising, foundational grants, and individual donations.
To learn how you can contribute, visit our Action page and Donate.
The Little Tree Project is an organization built on the foundation of faith but does not make agreement from survivors of trafficking a requirement due to the trauma and abuse many of them have suffered within the church and from the hands of leaders within the church. We fully recognize the unfortunate perversion that many individuals have faced and have had to endure from the hands of their abusers.
Our core values and principles are biblically based. We believe that we can display and achieve the spiritual love of God through actions and in truth versus forcing a religion or spiritual preference on the individuals in our care. Through such spiritual love, we will always make spiritual counseling part of the program but always optional and explained in advance of intake so prospective clients can make an informed decision about entering the program.
The Little Tree Project will not deny care or adapt the quality of care based on the faith convictions or spiritual beliefs of the client and will provide appropriate referrals for clients who are not comfortable with the faith perspective and/or expressions of The Little Tree Project to ensure each client has the opportunity to receive care.
The organization will not force clients to personally engage in faith, but will respect each client's individual journey as it relates to faith exploration and personal convictions. We will make reasonable efforts for clients to engage in their personal faith expression in a manner that lines up with the client's self-identified goals for healing and recovery.
We believe true healing requires us to take a three-sided approach, assessing our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Survivor approved spiritual counseling will only be administered by licensed and certified counselors and therapists. Weekly visits to church services and transportation will be made available to the residents at The Little Tree Project Housing opportunities who wish to go.