Join Us for the Innocence Freed Gala –
October 2, 2025, at the Astro Theater!
Mark your calendars for an unforgettable evening! The Innocence Freed, A New Beginning Gala, Let There Be Light is set for October 2, 2025, at the stunning Astro Theater in LaVista, Nebraska—and we’d love for you to be a part of it.
Our Keynote Speaker will beKelly Dore, a nationally recognized advocate and familial trafficking survivor.
Event Emcee: Maggie Thorne
Honorary Chair: Van Deeb
Live Music from: Remedy Drive
This special night will bring together passionate supporters, dignitaries, community leaders, and advocates for justice as we work to make a meaningful impact.
Get Involved
We are seeking sponsors, volunteers, and silent auction donations to ensure the success of this impactful night. Your generosity will help us continue providing vital resources and support to child and adult trafficking and exploitation survivors as they heal and regain independence.
Here’s how you can help:
✅ Become a sponsor – Align your business or organization with our mission and make a lasting impact.
✅ Donate an auction item – Contribute experiences, basket packages, products, or services to raise funds for survivors.
✅ Volunteer – Lend your time and talents to help make this event successful.
Purchase your ticket or table here,
💜 Together, we can bring hope and healing to survivors. We can’t wait to share this special evening with you!
To learn more or to get involved, please get in touch with us at gala@innocencefreed.org
Sponsorship Opportunities are Available:
Silent Auction Donations:
Our staff and volunteers can pick up silent auction donations, or you can drop them off at our office. Contact us at gala@innocencefreed.org.
Keynote Speaker: Kelly Dore
Kelly is the Executive Director of Sierra Cares Foundation which serves to repatriate, educate and serve vulnerable women and children in the Makeni region of Sierra Leone, she formerly founded the National Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition, formed with other professional survivor leaders in 2016, to help get emergency funding to survivors, advocate, educate and raise awareness to the degree of Human Sex and Labor trafficking across the nation. Kelly authored the first mental health program being piloted in West Africa and helps African and Middle Eastern Lawmakers understand sex and labor trafficking as it relates to their countries. She is also an expert in trauma for conflict regions and trains governments and first responders on how to navigate the challenges of refugee populations and trauma.
As a former elected County Commissioner, she has worked with both the Obama and Trump administrations and elected officials to help them understand the implications and impacts of legislation on the Federal and International Levels. As a subject matter expert in policy, legislation, and CSE, her public policy advising extends to the United Nations, the Vatican, and State and Federal entities, and she has written, testified, and helped to advise on over 300 pieces of legislation around the US and International Governments. She has authored a familial trafficking Identification guide for medical professionals and educators.
She is a former member of the 2nd cohort of ISTAC (International Survivor of Trafficking Advisory Council) and advises on international issues such as cultural child sex abuse, Voluntourism, and Orphanage Trafficking for the State Department. Kelly is published in the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, titled Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States, and is also a TEDx Speaker, and her video is titled “The Intersection of Vulnerability and Trauma.” She is a survivor of familial trafficking from ages 1-14, and her testimony brought charges against her trafficker when she was 15.
Event Emcee: Maggi Thorne
Maggi is a seven-time competitor for the Emmy-nominated show American Ninja Warrior. She travels the nation with her three kids, motivational speaking to inspire men, women, and children of all ages to Never Give Up and to “pursue your dreams no matter what life throws at you!“
Honorary Chair: Van Deeb
Van Deeb is a native of Omaha. After playing football at the University of Nebraska, he attended a real estate specialty school in Dallas, Texas. Van sold real estate in Dallas for 10 years before moving back home to Omaha to open up DEEB Realty in 1993. Van started his company with just himself out of his basement and grew it to one of the largest Real Estate firms in the Midwest with over 350 agents in only 15 years. Van sold DEEB Realty (now Nebraska Realty) in January of 2009.
Van is the CEO/Broker of Prime Realty, a residential brokerage firm, and also enjoys inspiring and motivating sales professionals to be the best they can be.
Live Music: Remedy Drive
Remedy Drive is an American alternative Christian rock band founded in 1998 in Lincoln, Nebraska. They are now based in Nashville. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist David Zach, alternating bassists Philip Zach and Dave Mohr, and alternating drummers Timmy Jones and Chris Sooter.
