Rebecca Bender Initiative

As survivors exit exploitation, most re-enter the community with a lack of education, skills, training, or support after spending years in trauma while being trafficked. Elevate Academy identified that survivors often face challenges in securing career positions in the professional world due to less experience, large gaps in their resumes, and, at times, a police record. In 2021, with this in mind along with an increase in number of survivors reaching out for support, we identified a gap in the field of survivor care and empowerment and the need to create a new model - one that equips survivors to reclaim their lives and gain the essential-for-adulthood skills that they frequently lack due to years of exploitation. We addressed the gap by focusing on helping survivors sharpen their professional and career development skills. We implemented a 12-week, semester-based program, complete with a virtual graduation ceremony and official graduation certificate. We also recruited survivor leaders to join the faculty so that our weekly live cohort discussions were led by facilitators who had lived experience. We completely revamped our curriculum, re-recording outdated videos, creating new worksheets, and partnering with the Paterson Center to provide a LifePlan that is designed specifically for trafficking survivors. To date we have graduated one class under this new model, and the feedback from our students and faculty has been outstanding. We have found our niche within the anti-trafficking movement and cannot wait to create more tools and resources that will help survivors go after their dreams.

Human trafficking is one of the largest and most significant problems faced in the world today. The Polaris Project, the nonprofit that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, estimates that there are 25 million people trafficked worldwide. In 2020 alone, the Polaris Project reports that there were 16, 658 victims of trafficking identified within the US, a number that is likely to be a fraction of the total number of trafficking victims. The global community has failed survivors and shoved them into the stereotype of victim, denying them the opportunities to thrive and to contribute to the global community. 

Providing Access

Greater than 30% of economically disadvantaged families lack access to a computer at home. This impacts their family time, ability to study and develop their career , and even creates social barriers. Without computer literacy and regular access, a world of content and knowledge is unwittingly beyond the reach of these individuals and students.

STEM Training

More than 75% of all jobs in the U.S. require tech skills and 58% of all STEM jobs are computer science jobs yet only 8% of college graduates elect paths in this field. When we can give our students access and exposure to technology we give them the opportunity to see a new path forward. 

Providing Motivation & Leadership skills

With over 500,000 current job openings, computer science roles are the #1 source of new employment in the United States. We believe that by inciting students curiosity we allow them to discover and explore industries and careers they may never have considered. 

The global community has failed survivors and shoved them into the stereotype of victim, denying them the opportunities to thrive and to contribute to the global community. 

Rebecca Bender, our founder, is one of the most renowned and sought after survivor leaders in the world, using multiple media platforms to speak up and out in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. 

Elevate Academy uses its innovative approach to reach survivors globally with mentoring services, life skills, career development, and support so that each one can discover their niche in the professional world and realize their potential.

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One of our main focuses through our initiative, Elevate Academy, is to empower survivors in their life path after trafficking. This includes giving them the tools needed to meet their goals and prepare them for their dreams, including creating their own businesses, nonprofits, etc. 

As survivors exit exploitation, most re-enter the community with a lack of education, skills, training, or support after spending years in trauma while being trafficked. Elevate Academy identified that survivors often face challenges in securing career positions in the professional world due to less experience, large gaps in their resumes, and, at times, a police record. In 2021, we identified a gap in the field of survivor care and empowerment and the need to create a new model - one that equips survivors to reclaim their lives and gain the essential-for-adulthood skills that they frequently lack due to years of exploitation. We addressed the gap by focusing on helping survivors sharpen their professional and career development skills. We implemented a 12-week, semester-based program, complete with a virtual graduation ceremony and official graduation certificate. We also recruited survivor leaders to join the faculty so that our weekly live cohort discussions were led by facilitators who had lived experience. We completely revamped our curriculum, re-recording outdated videos, creating new worksheets, and partnered with the Paterson Center to provide a LifePlan that is designed specifically for trafficking survivors. We have found our niche within the anti-trafficking movement and cannot wait to create more tools and resources that will help survivors go after their dreams.

In total RBI has empowered nearly 1,000 alumni to take steps toward their dreams. Countless others have been helped by the organization’s advocacy and support - from survivors to families of survivors, law enforcement to government leaders.  

Through the vast network of connections with survivors, organizations, and residential programs with whom we partner, we assess the needs of survivors for building leadership, professional training, curriculum, and programs. We regularly connect with our survivor students and faculty to seek evaluation and analysis on how to improve our courses, curriculum, and programs, as well as identify their greatest needs. Our next steps to further develop survivor leaders in their efforts to build self-sustaining lives is to increase EA students’ post-graduation opportunities through strategic (corporate) partnerships that empower survivors to professional training programs and entry-level career positions.

In total, we have served close to 1,000 survivors of trafficking. Each year, Elevate Academy has cohorts of students in the summer, fall, winter, and spring. This spring, we served 172 survivors. One year from now we would like to see this number doubled to 344. Five years from now, we'd love to see our global presence expanded tremendously with thousands more survivors served.

Human trafficking is one of the largest and most significant problems faced in the world today. The Polaris Project, the nonprofit that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, estimates that there are 25 million people trafficked worldwide. In 2020 alone, the Polaris Project reports that there were 16,658 victims of trafficking identified within the US, a number that is likely to be a fraction of the total number of trafficking victims. The global community has failed survivors and shoved them into the stereotype of victim, denying them the opportunities to thrive and to contribute to the global community. 

Elevate Academy (EA), the flagship program of The Rebecca Bender Initiative (RBI), was created as an innovative online and interactive school for survivors to prepare for lives and careers that exist outside of exploitation and within society. EA was the first online school for survivors of human trafficking. The school uses this innovative approach to reach survivors globally with mentoring services, life skills, career development, and support so that each one can discover their niche in the professional world and realize their potential. EA is now the largest online school of its kind in the world.

Through the vast network of connections with survivors, organizations, and residential programs with whom we partner and with the frequent advocacy, speaking engagements, and other events we are actively engaged in, we assess the needs of survivors for building leadership, professional training, curriculum, and programs. We regularly connect with our survivor students and faculty to seek evaluation and analysis on how to improve our courses, curriculum, and programs, as well as identify their greatest needs. Our next steps to further develop survivor leaders in their efforts to build self-sustaining lives is to increase EA students’ post-graduation opportunities through strategic (corporate) partnerships that empower survivors to professional training programs and entry-level career positions.

Providing Access

Greater than 30% of economically disadvantaged families lack access to a computer at home. 

This impacts their family time, ability to study and develop their career , and even creates social barriers. Without computer literacy and regular access, a world of content and knowledge is unwittingly beyond the reach of these individuals and students.  

STEM Training

More than 75% of all jobs in the U.S. require tech skills and 58% of all STEM jobs are computer science jobs yet only 8% of college graduates elect paths in this field.

When we can give our students access and exposure to technology we give them the opportunity to see a new path forward. 

Providing Motivation & Leadership skills

With over 500,000 current job openings, computer science roles are the #1 source of new employment in the United States. 

We believe that by inciting students curiosity we allow them to discover and explore industries and careers they may never have considered. 

Our team comes with a wide range of lived experiences personally and professionally. With a priority on representation of those we serve, we employ survivors of trafficking who can speak into the development of our program to better serve our students. This includes survivors of different types of trafficking. Our staff has experience in nonprofit, corporate, higher education, and more that bring an array of experience and expertise to our organization. 

With the expertise coming from the Truist Foundation & MIT Solve, we believe we can work together to meet the goals previously mentioned. The guidance and support received from this would be beneficial in enhancing what we currently have operating. 

With a small team and an increasing demand, we seek to find the best and most efficient ways to meet the needs of survivors across the United States and the rest of the world. Expertise provided by this opportunity will help us in these areas and more. 

TBD