Marjorie Saylor was once a victim of trafficking. Now she works as care coordinator, director of human trafficking services and awareness, and legal liaison at One Safe Place, and on October 4 she'll stand before a ballroom of North County supporters as the keynote speaker for the 15th annual Celebration of Courage fundraiser in Escondido, sharing what organizers describe as her journey from exploitation to advocacy.
The event, held jointly by the Soroptimist International clubs of North San Diego and Poway, runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom inside the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, at 340 N. Escondido Blvd. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, this marks the fifteenth year of the gathering, which was formerly known as Hats and Heels before adopting its current name. An EINPresswire release confirms the milestone anniversary and the venue details for this year's gathering.
Saylor will present a talk titled “Chasing Freedom: A Journey Out of Exploitation Into a World Never Imagined,” according to the Union-Tribune's reporting. She has spent more than a decade working to prevent trafficking, support survivors, and advance survivor-informed policy reform, and she now serves as Board President of the Survivor Leader Network of San Diego and Vice Chair of the Survivor Voice Subcommittee on the San Diego Regional Human Trafficking Advisory Council, per her biography with World Without Exploitation. Before joining One Safe Place, she founded The Well Path in 2017, a nonprofit providing emergency shelter, hotel stays, and airfare to help survivors escape sex trafficking, as she described in an interview with GRACE.
Where the Ticket Money Goes
One Safe Place, where Saylor works, is part of the San Diego County Family Justice Center and provides no-cost support services for people who have experienced abuse or victimization, the Union-Tribune reports. The San Marcos facility was established by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office in July 2022, after a 2019 county report found disproportionately high levels of domestic abuse homicides in North County, according to The Coast News. In its first two years of operation through July 2024, the center served more than 6,000 victims and survivors, including over 2,000 children, and logged more than 14,000 helpline calls, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office has reported. The county replicated that model in October 2025 with a second One Safe Place location in National City, expanding wraparound care to South County.
Celebration of Courage organizers have set a fundraising goal of $200,000 this year, the Union-Tribune reports. Poway Soroptimists president Michelle Gaylord said the event will fund the transitional housing project, Live Your Dream scholarships, and other efforts. North San Diego Soroptimist president Theresa Martin also helps lead the two chapters, which have long worked to help women and their children rebuild their lives after escaping domestic violence.
Housing, Scholarships, and Auction Prizes
Since 1997, the chapters' transitional housing program has helped 96 mothers and 226 children, offering housing for 12 to 18 months alongside supportive services and mentorship. The clubs currently fund five apartments at a time, and sustaining that housing requires at least $100,000 annually, according to the Union-Tribune's account. Remaining proceeds beyond the housing costs will be divided between the two chapters for scholarship programs and other projects.
Those scholarships tie into a much larger national effort: Soroptimist International disburses more than $3 million annually in Live Your Dream Awards to over 2,300 women worldwide, with more than half of recipients identifying as survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, or sexual assault, according to LiveYourDream.org. The North San Diego club itself dates back to 1977, when it was chartered as part of the organization's Desert Coast Region, per the chapter's official portal.
Guests at the October 4 event can bid on a 17-item silent auction and take part in a wine pull featuring more than 340 bottles, each valued at $25 or above, at $25 per draw. A heads-or-tails game costs $50 for one chance or $100 for three chances, with players guessing correctly to advance and up to three tries allowed; the winner takes home a 14k white gold lab-grown diamond tennis bracelet weighing approximately 3.2 carats and appraised at $5,500, donated by Unicorn Jewelry & Watch Boutique. Auction packages also include La Dolce Vita: An Italian Affair, offering two tickets to a 50-person dinner in High Valley, Poway, set for September 11, 2027; Bubbles Beaches and Bodega Bay, which includes a week at a Bodega Bay vacation home for up to eight guests, a tour and tasting for four at Flowers Winery, and 25,000 Southwest Airlines miles; and Sip, Savor & Celebrate, featuring four VIP tickets to the San Diego Food & Wine Festival and a two-night stay at the Marriott Marquis during the festival weekend of November 6 to 8.
A Regional Problem Behind the Local Event
The scale of the issue driving the fundraiser is significant. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has estimated that sex trafficking generates more than $810 million annually in illicit revenue within the county, according to the California Department of Justice. Law enforcement has continued targeting that market: in July 2026, the San Diego Regional Human Trafficking Task Force executed Operation Iron Justice, arresting 27 sex buyers in a demand-reduction operation involving federal, state, and local partners, the state DOJ announced.
Tickets for Celebration of Courage cost $150 for an individual or $1,500 for a table seating 10, with purchases due by September 28. Organizers say the event will raise money for women and girls striving to improve their lives while also raising awareness about human trafficking. Tickets are available at tinyurl.com/celebratecourage26.
