Alaska State Fair Barefoot Mile hosting Barefoot Mile event for Joy International

PALMER — Joy International is hosting its first Barefoot Mile fundraising event with the Alaska State Fair this year, prompting participants to kick off their shoes and walk to raise money and awareness for human trafficking recovery efforts across the globe.

The Alaska Barefoot Mile will take place within the Hermon Brothers Ball Field near the Fairgrounds Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Funds raised go directly to Joy International.

The top 50 participants with the highest donations will receive free admission to the 2021 Fair, according to ASF event coordinator, Sara Post.

“This is an event that will actually save lives,” Post said.

Throughout the year, communities across the globe host The Barefoot Mile events to support Joy International’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts for human trafficking victims, particularly children, teens, and young adults.

Joy International founder and President, Dr. Jeff Brodsky said that he enjoys the opportunity to return to Alaska after years of collaboration with organizations across the state, including the Valley’s own MyHouse Homeless Youth Center. He said they’ve held numerous Alaskan Barefoot Mile events.

“Although my organization is headquartered in Colorado, we have a very strong connection in the state of Alaska. I come to Alaska five, six times a year,” Brodsky said. “We’ve trained employees of every kind, even at the airport there in Alaska to help them work with the police to report when there’s something that’s not right.”

Barefoot Mile participants are asked to walk without socks and shoes to pay tribute to the struggles of trafficking victims across the world. Brodsky has walked barefoot for over a decade without wavering, even in the winter.

“I do not compromise. I walk in solidarity with impoverished and trafficked children. There are hundreds of millions of children that walk barefoot every day. When a child is snatched or sold into a brothel, if they have any shoes or sandals the brothel owners will always take them away because they want them barefoot to make it more difficult to run away,” Brodsky said. “

Brodsky said this week marks Joy International’s 40th anniversary as an organization. He said they have a worldwide network of volunteers working around the clock with law enforcement agencies to rescue trafficking victims from brothels and other dire dens of abuse, noting that their efforts never paused due to the pandemic.

“We’re one of the leaders in the fight against child trafficking because we were one of the first. A lot of organizations have popped up over the years… a lot of them talk about rescues, but that’s all it is, is talk. There’s very few that actually do the rescues. Joy International actually does the rescues,” Brodsky said.

Brodsky said that Joy International will have a booth at the Fair’s Valley Resource Expo Aug. 26.

Joy International held Barefoot Mile events at numerous Alaskan venues this year, including the Alaska Vintage Market at the Palmer Fairgrounds and Jumping Junction in Soldotna.

Post said the Fair is planning to hold another Barefoot Mile event called the Barefoot Bluegrass Barbeque next May.

“Hopefully it will be something we continue to bring every year,” Post said.

To register and find out more information about the Alaska Barefoot Mile, visit joy.org/barefoot-mile-events/2021/8/28/alaska-state-fair-barefoot-mile. Participants can also walk virtually.

To learn more about the Valley Resource Fair, visit alaskastatefair.org/site/events/healthy-communities-and-happy-families-expo

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com