Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Stu Bobcat - St. Thomas University
MIAMI GARDENS | St. Thomas University has received a $2.5 million gift for its Human Trafficking Academy, a gift that will strengthen its work in professional education, victim and survivor counseling and legal assistance.
The gift, said to be one of the largest-ever donations of its kind, came from John Brunetti, chairman of Hialeah Park and Casino.
John Brunetti, center, shows the check he donated to the Human Trafficking Academy at St. Thomas University. To the right of Brunetti is Msgr. Franklyn Casale, president of the university.
"I am determined to help educate others on human trafficking, provide support to trafficking survivors, and to stand up for the rights and the dignity that they deserve," Brunetti said at a joint press conference at the State Attorney’s Office in Miami.
"This gift will not only strengthen, but advance the academy’s commitment to its mission of providing dignified care to victims and survivors, as well as informing the public of this horrible threat to society."
The academy, part of STU's School of Law, holds an annual five-day program of 15 intensive courses for law enforcement, lawyers, healthcare providers, teachers, students, researchers, religious institutions and community leaders on the many issues related to human trafficking.
Msgr. Franklyn Casale, president of St. Thomas University, received the check and thanked Brunetti at the Miami press conference.
"This gift, one of the biggest toward curbing human trafficking, will establish the Academy as the center for all anti-human trafficking efforts," he said. "It will be a collaborative center unifying the nation’s experts and programs focused on victim care and support, and the education of responders and public agencies."
Besides his presidency, Msgr. Casale is the spokesperson on human trafficking for the Institute for Intercultural Human Rights at the St. Thomas School of Law. He has also testified before Congress on reauthorization of the Human Trafficking Act.
The academy plans to work with Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami’s state attorney, sharing resources to raise awareness of trafficking issues, and to understand local and global victims better.