13 Nov Grateful in My Purpose

Dotti Groover-Skipper is grateful for her upbringing. “I was raised to find gratitude in everything, even in the storm. You know, ‘Learn how to dance in the rain’—because that’s not so bad.”

Her father was the outreach director for their church, and he was, she said, “my hero and he instilled in me that everybody matters.”

That foundational value led to her purpose in life, for which she’s also grateful: Groover-Skipper has been deeply involved in the fight against human trafficking for three decades. “It’s my life’s work, my calling,” she said. “I know that I’m living my purpose. When you follow your dream, what you’re being called to do—as crazy as you or others might think it is—the doors will fly open! It’s a feeling I wish everyone could experience. And I’m deeply grateful for it.”

Groover-Skipper retired earlier this year from her position as the statewide anti-trafficking director for The Salvation Army in Florida, but says she’s “redirected rather retired,” but no less “extremely productive.” Through her foundation, HeartDance, she still visits Tampa Bay strip clubs to let women know they have a way out if they want it and provides the resources they need.

And she’s a fixture in the Tampa Bay and Florida anti-trafficking networks and was appointed to the Florida Drug Policy Advisory Council (DPAC) and the Hillsborough County Commission on Human Trafficking. In the former capacity, she’s able to help communities work at unraveling the knot that ties trafficking so closely to substance abuse: “Traffickers will absolutely use drugs to ensnare and control the vulnerable.”

In the latter capacity, Groover-Skipper and the other commission members will be the official partner to the NFL host committee for the 2021 Super Bowl LV in Tampa. They’ll spearhead awareness and prevention efforts around the substance abuse and trafficking that often happens around these large-scale sporting events.

“And prevention is everything, the thing,” she said. “We need to bump up our awareness game to our kids. Trafficking isn’t about ‘stranger danger.’ Kidnapping is not the typical way one is trafficked. Much more common is familial trafficking when family members or close friends groom a child, over time, before beginning to sell them.”

She’s a valued advisor, yes, but she’s not one to leave the trenches; not when there’s still work to be done.

And so Groover-Skipper is also grateful for her husband, who reminds her weekly that he supports her in her mission. “We were high school sweethearts who went our separate ways and then reunited 37 years later.” They’ve been married 15 years now, and, Groover-Skipper said, “there’s never been a week in that time I’ve not had fresh roses in my house.” The bouquets are her husband’s sign that he understands and supports her life’s work as he, literally, also gives her a chance and a reason to stop and smell the roses. “They are his expression of love and reminder to care for myself, as well.”

Because, as she learned from her father, everybody matters.

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