At Northland Wealth we focus not only on the financial wealth of the families we serve, but also on the intrinsic or real wealth – the actual family.

Children born into financially wealthy families may have a difficult time finding and committing themselves to a passion that helps them grow as individuals, enables them to provide for themselves, and allows them to contribute in a meaningful way to society through their actions. In this edition we wish to highlight Shae Invidiata, a woman who works alongside her father Christopher in the family business - The Invidiata Team, which ranks consistently as the #1 real estate sales team in Canada and amongst the top RE/MAX teams in the world.

While it is encouraging that Shae has followed in her father’s footsteps in assisting Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga residents with their real estate transactions, this person stands as a role model and makes and even greater difference as the Founder of [free-them] Foundation. This Foundation is an initiative to put an end to one of the fastest growing crimes on the planet today – Human Trafficking and Slavery.

[free-them] is a small group of individuals who have come together to change the world and who believe that if we all work together slavery & human trafficking can end in our lifetime. They educate students, organizations, faith communities, business professionals and corporate groups to the reality that slavery exists today in our country and around the world. They believe that slavery can truly be abolished if citizens of the world are made aware of the dark secrets of human trafficking. The foundation produces campaigns, provides tools that individuals can use to combat slavery, and regularly hosts events to bring people together to become part of the solution.

It all began 11 years ago, when an 18 year old Shae Invidiata was attending university in Honolulu, Hawaii. She noticed that young girls and women, some children as young as 13, but the majority between 16 and 19 years of age, were standing on Kuhio Avenue at all hours of the night, not just as prostitutes, but as victims of human trafficking being prostituted. Something inside Shae made her take her first step as a philanthropist and to take time to speak with many of these young people. From these discussions Shae learned their stories of false promises, fake boyfriends, of being coerced and lured, and of the fear and realities that prohibited them from being able to leave or escape. This is slavery in the modern world.

In 2006 after moving off the island of Oahu to live in Vancouver and then on to Sydney, Australia to complete her education, Shae began to see red flags indicating that slavery was just as prevalent in her home country and in Australia as well. After meeting with different organizations and doing much research, Shae concluded there were significant gaps creating significant opportunities for human trafficking and exploitation that could be reduced by promoting awareness and education that informed citizens about the presence of human trafficking. “You cannot fight something that you are not aware exists, and further, a donor will not give money to something that they don’t understand or even know what the problem is.”

In 2010, Shae founded [free-them]; an initiative dedicated to raising awareness and funds to abolish human trafficking in Canada and abroad, by partnering with other people, organizations, and businesses that fight human trafficking and slavery today.

While Shae credits much of her success to the guidance, consistent encouragement and support of her father, she has received broad recognition from Chatelaine magazine, Queen Elizabeth II and the Governments of both Canada and Ontario, for her work thus far. However, the work Shae does isn’t about winning awards or gaining personal fame, but about leading and encouraging others to join her in speaking out and acting against slavery in order to eradicate it.

From all of the team at Northland Wealth, we encourage everyone to find a passion, a cause, or a goal, and contribute through time, effort or money to help make a difference in someone else’s life. Don’t be afraid to step out with a vision, as you never know where it will take you.

To learn more about [free-them].