Former high school friends team up to help recover girls from human trafficking using “Grow to Give” challenge

Jenny Williamson and Gary Aldridge grew up in Jackson, Miss. They were friends in high school but both left Mississippi to develop their own careers and lives. More than 40 years later, they reconnected on Facebook and have teamed up to recover girls from human trafficking by helping businesses increase their market value.

After high school, Williamson moved to California and began working as an CFO for her husband’s natural gas business. Aldridge, meanwhile, was building his own career as a CPA, CFO and valuation expert. Williamson was stopped in her tracks one day when she heard a minister speaking about the prevalence of human trafficking.

“He said, ‘We live in a world where children are sold for sex,’” Williamson recalls, pausing. “I had been asking myself questions like, ‘Is my business making an impact?’ ‘Is my life making an impact?’ ‘Is my faith making an impact?’ And I was on a journey to discovering my purpose, so when I heard those words, I began to research the issue of human trafficking and found out it was happening in our backyards,” Williamson said.

She founded Courage Worldwide in 2005, and now operates in the U.S. and in Tanzania, creating safe houses for girls rescued from human trafficking across the world. She has been recognized with the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award, the Sacramento District Attorney Community Spirit Award, and the Community Impact Award from William Jessup University. She was awarded the L'Oréal of Paris Women of Worth Award and was named one of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Points of Light.

Her goals for the future are bold: impact 1 million lives by building 1000 Courage safe homes for girls recovered from human trafficking from 100 countries in 10 years. When Aldridge reconnected with Williamson, it was those bold goals that caught his attention. He had been working on utilizing his 30+ years as a CFO into an online business course called LeveragingYOU! designed to help business owners increase business value. He decided to partner with Courage Worldwide to help business owners grow the value in their business and, therefore, grow their ability to give.

The “Grow to Give” campaign with LeveragingYOU! and Courage Worldwide has big goals: teach100 businesses how to add $1 million in value per business Aldridge is challenging business owners who participate to give back 1% of the growth in value back to Courage Worldwide. $100 million in increased value times 1% = $1 million. Aldridge will also donate 50% of the course proceeds to Courage Worldwide.

LISTEN TO GARY AND JENNY TALK ABOUT THEIR PROJECT ON LEVERAGINGYOU! the PODCAST

“What I love about what we are doing is it’s a different message to business owners. It is a message that the impact you leave behind is really the most important thing you can do. Growing value in a business can increase wealth but giving back to Courage Worldwide can save lives,” Aldridge said.