[Brandon Ramus coauthored this post.]
Fox Valley Initiative (FVI) held its monthly public forum on January 5, 2026 at Freedom Project Academy in Appleton, discussing the Damascus Road Project and trafficking.
Damascus was founded in 2009 to battle the evils of sex trafficking. It is a national and international effort committed to bring awareness through educating, restoring and empowering the abused, and advocating for the prevention and abolition of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
The main speakers at the Jan. 5 forum were Kelly Olson with Damascus and an investigator with the Oshkosh Police Department. They described trafficking for sex, commerce, and labor. Trafficking is a $236 billion annual industry, and 84% of traffickers advertise online. Traffickers can be family members, strangers, or gang members.
To combat trafficking, Damascus and the Oshkosh Police Department hold a two-hour awareness class monthly and work with other community organizations to house and support the trafficked individuals as needed. The website Damascusroadproject.org lists multiple ways that the public can be of assistance.
Update about FVI
FVI recently received 501c4 status and is changing its name to Fox Valley Conservatives (FVC). The mission of FVC is to inform and activate the voting public.
The next monthly forum will be on Monday, February 2, 2026, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Freedom Project Academy, 750 North Hickory Farm Lane, Appleton. FVC will be hosting Judge Maria Lazar, who is running for State Supreme Court in the election on Tuesday, April 7. Judge Lazar has served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, since August 2022, in Waukesha-based District II. She previously served seven years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Waukesha County.