BY KADIE VICK
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Worthy2 (Worthy Squared) will host a Warriors for Freedom 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run on Saturday, April 26, at 8 a.m. at the Opelika Sportsplex. Proceeds support the nonprofit’s advocacy programs for women who have been victims of sex trafficking and abuse.
“Funds raised go to victim services directly or to prevention efforts, which would be education and awareness,” said Worthy2 founder Kathryn Guthrie.
Guthrie and the Worthy2 team work to help women and girls escape dangerous situations and connect them with resources needed to navigate back to a safe and normal life.
“We are an advocacy organization serving adult and minor females who have been exploited through commercial sex or sex trafficking, and we’ve been doing that work here in Lee County for seven years,” said Guthrie. “We do intervention for those who are already being exploited, and we provide victim services — safe emergency shelter, detox, if needed, and referrals to long-term restorative care programs. We walk with them all the way through their journey to freedom and beyond.”
Worthy2 also works to help prevent and raise awareness for sex trafficking and abuse through educating the community about what to look for to make sure children are safe.
“Prevention has really been a very big focus for us the last two years, because if you can stop it before it happens, then that’s probably the most effective way to eradicate sex trafficking,” Guthrie said.
She said one of her main concerns for younger generations is online predators as more than 4 million online predators were identified online in the U.S. in 2022, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“We have to be smarter than our kids,” Guthrie said. “We have to know that even if it’s a private Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, it still has a chat feature. So, predators can reach out and talk to anybody just based on whatever their profile picture is.”
The Warriors for Freedom 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run will also show survivors of trafficking that the community supports them.
“They have gone through unspeakable experiences, and I think with an event like this, it’s really to focus on the victories when a victim is safe.”
The Warriors for Freedom event will be held in memory of Lily Alyscia Ledbetter, a young Opelika woman whose dream was to graduate from Auburn University’s School of Building Science. In 2022, she went to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands for an internship with a local developer, where her life was cut short. Circumstances surrounding her death were linked to exploitation and possible trafficking, and the investigation is ongoing. Ledbetter’s mother is a friend of Guthrie and serves on the Worthy2 team to help prevent such a tragedy from happening to other families.
“We say every step is a step for freedom, and I think it’s part of Lily’s legacy, because we also plan on opening a restorative care home for survivors of trafficking,” Guthrie said. “It will be called Lily’s Hope, so that will be continue her legacy.”
