Student club throwing purse party, Nov. 1

The College of Human Sciences strives to expand human potential and improve the lives of others – and on Nov. 1 the Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Studies club will practice what the college preaches.  The club is hosting a purse party to raise funds and awareness about human trafficking.  Purses and other hand crafts will be for sale and proceeds will go directly to the woman who made them.

The idea for the event started when several club members saw a guest speaker, Chelsie Town, present in their HDFS 276 human sexuality course.  The students decided holding a purse party was one way they could raise awareness about human trafficking and raise money for the women affected by human trafficking.  Town’s purse parties support Pearl Alliance, a larger non-profit organization that works to end human trafficking worldwide, particularly in Cambodia.

Jaime Christensen, a sophomore in family and consumer sciences education, serves as the College of Human Sciences representative for the club and hopes the purse party will attract a wide audience.

“We hope to raise awareness and education about human trafficking – and also to support victims of human trafficking by writing letters of encouragement and providing financial assistance to programs that help victims of human trafficking,” said Christensen.  “We hope people come out to support these women and the cause.  It’s also a great way to buy gifts for Christmas or other occasions.”

The purse party will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 1,  in W142 Lagomarcino Hall.  The event will begin at 5:15 p.m. with a brief presentation followed by a question and answer session.  Afterwards the audience will have the opportunity to browse products and make cards to send to victims of human trafficking.