IKAM PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS THE BODY & SOLD PROJECT

AT SOUTHERN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY STUDENT CENTER

MAY 1, 2010 @ 1 pm

-- Stage Play and Reading Elevates Awareness of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children--

IKAM Productions presents Body & Sold, a stage play written by Deborah Lake Fortson and based on interviews conducted with young men and women who have fallen victim to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), also known as child sex trafficking. The play will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Southern Polytechnic State University Student Center Theatre. The event is free, however, reservations are required.

Directed by Betty Hart, Body & Sold will feature a host of local and national talent, including , 95.5 The Beat’s on-air personality Mo Reilley , American Violet actress, Portia Cue, and personality, Carla “The Juice” Webster. The event is also supported by Congressman John Lewis, Georgia State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield and Baltimore Ravens Daniel Wilcox and his wife Shauna who all serve as Honorary Co-Chairs.

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children has grown to epidemic proportions throughout the United States. In the State of Georgia alone, nearly 400 teen children are trafficked each month, and according to the FBI, Atlanta is one of 14 U.S. with the highest rate of CSEC. While Georgia lawmakers are working to institute tougher penalties against those who commit these crimes against children, several community organizations have taken up the cause to rescue and restore the victims, some who are as young as 10 years old.

Such organizations include the following non-profit organizations, all of whom are proactively combating CSEC are:

•        Girls Are Not for Sale, a national campaign through the Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) program ( www.gems-girls.org) aimed at inspiring one million Americans to take action to nurture and empower American girls who have been trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.

•        Push PAST, a newly established organization aiming to bring the community together for this worthy cause – to end sex trafficking and comprised of volunteers and passionate directors.  (www.pushpast.org)

•        The SOLD Project ( www.thesoldproject.org), a national non-profit with a goal that no child ever be exposed to a life of exploitation with a scholarship fund to help prevent children from dropping out of school due to poverty and end up in situations of exploitation.

Additional performances of Body & Sold will be held in Washington, DC and New York this Fall. For more information and sponsorship availability, please contact Zenobia Young at (404) 236-9949 or  theatre@ikamproductions.com. For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact Nina Theodore at (404) 236-9949 or info@ikamproductions.com.  

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Reservations are required.

Tickets will be available at Will Call.