Fortunately for Rotary International's Los Angeles District, it includes the remarkable Past District Governor, Cozette Vergari (Past President of the Westchester Rotary Club). Cozette, among other accolades, is a lawyer and a fierce advocate for the victims and survivors of heinous crimes, and became personally driven to fight for minors, efforts to protect the innocent, especially young children who have been siphoned from our neighborhoods, schools, parks and airports, almost right before our eyes but unrecognized by many, victims and survivors of sex trafficking.
During her Rotary district governorship in 2017, Cozette began coalescing a team of dedicated and passionate professionals to combat this growing epidemic in our cities and states coast-to-coast and created the first ever "cause-based club" in Los Angeles, Rotarians Fighting Human Trafficking.
On Friday, July 26th, the documentary film “California’s Forgotten Children,” will be shown at the Hermosa Beach Community Theatre at 7 p.m. The 90-minute film, which won Best Documentary at the 2018 Soho Film Festival, follows a diverse group of resilient survivors, who have overcome their commercial exploitation by traffickers. In 2019, the documentary screened at the United States Senate to educate policy makers implementing laws to combat human trafficking. In total, it has received over 20 awards and honors, for its impact and significance. The director of the film, Melody C. Miller, will be present for a Q&A following the film. Once again, for details, click on https://rotariansfightinghumantrafficking.org/events.