Despite being a wife, mother, and having a demanding job at the Westin and Sheraton resorts, La Monica Ball consistently finds opportunities to give back to her Dallas community. Giving back to the community was a way of life for her family. But whenever she has volunteered and helped others, even as a child, it has come naturally to her. Growing up, her family was stationed on an Air Force base in Alaska, so they found many ways to provide much-needed resources for others, despite the cold. La Monica’s family had weekends set aside for volunteerism in the community and at church. During the week, La Monica invited less fortunate kids for a home-cooked meal and friendship. Their family mission of providing for those in need was never left unfinished.

One story she remembers fondly was how her best friend Fannie did not have a TV in her bedroom. La Monica explains, ‘One day I decided to take one of the TVs out of my house and put it on the sled because the snow was very high. I pulled that TV with a sheet over it around the corner to their house. Her mom opened the door, and I said, “I brought a TV.” We put the TV in her room, and I took my sled back home.’ When La Monica’s parents found out her mom wasn’t surprised at all and said, “Well, we told her to give back. We told her to help out.”

Even though La Monica and her younger brother have their own lives outside of their childhood Alaskan community, their work hasn’t stopped. Her brother’s retirement has been filled with helping those in his community. She has volunteered in various capacities over the years with the Special Olympics, visiting the elderly in senior living facilities during the holidays, assisting women in a domestic violence shelter, and raising awareness about human trafficking.

Genesis Women’s Shelter, a domestic violence shelter, was an organization she developed a passion for through her habit of paying attention to opportunities to help others. One night, leaving work at the hotel, she realized she had forgotten her purse inside. Upon turning around, she noticed a woman sitting with her child on the curb. Her whole face was bruised. She didn’t think twice of taking her inside the hotel to a meeting room to talk. La Monica explained to her that if she were to stay at the hotel that night, she had to file a police report. The woman was frightened of getting the police involved, thinking she would end up dead. However, the hotel staff couldn’t be placed in jeopardy, and the police were notified. While the woman and her child were safe at the hotel, La Monica eventually found the Genesis Women’s Shelter, a hidden sanctuary in an old fire station. La Monica took the woman and her child to the shelter, but after seeing the other women and children there, she had a hard time leaving. She wanted to know what she could do to help.

La Monica started to spend her Saturdays playing with the kids while their moms went to counseling or she helped the moms with chores. She was able to fill a huge need for the shelter. Yet, as she started to get to know everyone there, she wanted to give back to them in other ways. She saw an opportunity to give the staff and moms a break from cooking.

After talking to the hotel owners, they encouraged her to take lunch or dinner from the hotel kitchen to the shelter. The hotel staff were inspired, especially those on her team. Some women wanted to volunteer with La Monica, but it was an experience they didn’t expect and were hesitant to return a second time. La Monica explains, “You have to be strong. You can’t go in and let these women see you sad and crying because they’re already going through it. So a couple of my female coworkers could only drop off the food, but couldn’t even go in. Because what you see changes your outlook on everything…But it also took me a while to get in and just not cry.” La Monica explains that complimenting the women is a wonderful way to start a conversation, especially when you don’t know what to say to them. “[It] boosts them up,” she explains. They also bring gifts for the moms since they had to leave everything behind. “I always think about what if that was me? What would I want? Who would I want to be there as my support?”

Over the years, she continued to volunteer but eventually spent more of her time in the shelter’s thrift store, where they get clothing donations from the community. No matter what she is doing for Genesis, she describes the work as “rewarding and still fun.” She knows not everyone feels the same about volunteering. She explains, ‘People don’t like to volunteer. I thought that they would, but they don’t….In the morning, we’re going to do community service and pick up trash. Then everyone’s asking, “You’re getting up on Saturday?” I’m not doing anything else. It makes you feel good.’

Although volunteerism is not instilled in everyone, people have different passions, and she believes everyone can do something to give back. La Monica found her unique passion to give back. First, it started with helping women at domestic violence shelters, which then led her to expose human trafficking. She found Shepherd’s Watch a little over a year ago and helped them with planning fundraising events. But she wanted to do more with the organization and didn’t know where to start. She unexpectedly found her start after a traumatic experience with her daughter.

Just after midnight on April 7, 2024, La Monica’s daughter, Saraya, was on her way back home after she had had dinner with friends. When, unexpectedly, her Uber driver leaned back in his seat to get closer to Saraya and started making inappropriate comments. She knew something wasn’t right. He passed her street multiple times, taking her around in circles. A common ploy for trafficking. Saraya texted her mom, fearing she was being trafficked. La Monica was asleep and didn’t hear her phone ping. She was preparing for a long day at a women’s conference that she and her friend organized. So Saraya dialed her mom’s number while in the Uber. La Monica heard the ring and picked up. Saraya told her to look at her text. It said, “I think I’m being trafficked.” She woke up her husband to tell him. After calming him down, she told Saraya to put the phone on speaker. She warned the driver, “Do not pass my house again. Bring her home to us.” She and her husband felt like their hands were tied, but to their relief, the Uber driver took Saraya home. Although La Monica had to leave her daughter for the conference, she knew her husband would get things taken care of since he had all of the driver’s information.

At the conference, La Monica’s friend and committee member worked for Uber. She made her aware of all that had happened to her daughter. It led to many calls from her friend, and they are currently planning a sit-down meeting with the company to preserve their working relationship. Being her number one account at her last hospitality job as well as a sponsor of the conference, it’s important to them.

Shepherd’s Watch Foundation is an organization that combats human trafficking. When their president stepped down, the board asked La Monica to take on that role, and she accepted. As president, she traveled to different speaking engagements with the vice-president to spread awareness about human trafficking and how people can recognize it early to avoid being a victim. They have even been invited to be on the Dr. Phil show, where Shepherd’s Watch informants revealed to him and his audience the reality of human trafficking on police ride-alongs. They took Dr. Phil undercover to Dallas massage parlors where they found trafficking rings. La Monica will go on his show this summer to talk more about the Foundation and its impact.

Although she has recently resigned as president, she still spreads awareness of human trafficking, including at work. She has improved the human trafficking online training that her colleagues have to do as hotel employees. She desires to make it more tangible. She says, ‘It’s different when you’re just reading through [the training], clicking, clicking, and then they pass you.” But when you have someone like me who’s an advocate for it, talking to the front desk, to housekeeping, and the rest of the team, it goes a long way. Now everyone is aware. If they see something, they say something. They know to go to the front desk for authorities to be notified for a wellness check on the room. A lot of people take it for granted. If it doesn’t affect them or their families or their friends, then it’s nothing that you want to talk about.”

It is evident La Monica’s passion lies in not only helping others, but in being an advocate for those who can’t use their voice. As a child, she provided for her friends who didn’t have as much. Now, as an adult, she uses her resources to spread awareness so others have the gumption to help.

Join La Monica in Dallas, Texas August 29-31 for Inspire Her Nexx Chapter, a transformative 3-day women’s conference. We intend to speak to women’s spirits, cultivate their souls and pamper their hearts in a space where diversity and differences are seen as strengths and where women can actively participate.

The Future of Connection for Women