IDEA From Michelle Huffman: Have shirts made that say something like, "Stop Selling Children into Sex Slavery" on the front, and "Ask Me How", on the back. With each shirt purchased we could provide a set of business cards with a few of the websites such as yours that will inform people about the issues at hand and also to equipt them to take action!
PURPOSE: This shirt is to be worn by the bold. When they are stopped and asked about their shirt they need to be ready to hand out the business card, at the very least, and if they can, hold a quick conversation and share the burden we carry to end this abomination!
THINGS YOU CAN DO:We can start this now. If anyone is willing to donate the printing of the shirts, I can purchase the shirts and business cards. We can then donate all the proceeds to a local cause that ends Sex Slavery of young girls (usually between ages 3-16) who are currently chained to beds waiting for their next abuser to take advantage of them.
PURPOSE: End slave labor for the mining of rare earth minerals in Africa.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:The U.N. report calls for much more than guidelines. It proposes an all-out trade embargo on the import and export of coltan and other minerals from or to Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda "until those countries' involvement in the exploitation of the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is made clear and declared so by the Security Council."
Trade groups, notably the TIC, say that would be unfair to the legitimate trading companies that do business in the region. "There have been exports from Zaire/Congo for 40 years," says the TIC's Wickens. "If there is an embargo, this will carry off the legitimate as well as illegitimate mining."
But given the problems in policing the coltan trade, Baldo of Human Rights Watch believes only an embargo will begin to reverse the tide of abuse in the Congo. "I would encourage the U.N. Security Council to adopt an embargo against Rwanda and Uganda, because they rely on international assistance," says Baldo. Sanctions imposed by foreign governments could thus have an immediate effect in the region. Rwandan and Ugandan rebels "are exploiting resources illegally and know sooner or later this will become unacceptable," add Baldo.
Implementing such an embargo is easier said than done. One member of a large, well-respected nongovernmental organization, which he didn't want to name because it is preparing a report on the Congo, says his group is "in support of sanctions and the withdrawal of all troops from the DRC." But the difficulty, he says, "is to come up with sanctions on minerals such as coltan that don't have an impact on the people."
It remains to be seen whether high-tech companies would go along with a U.N.-backed embargo. An Alcatel spokeswoman, for example, says that "once it is voted by the Security Council and becomes a resolution, yes, we would abide by it." But Ericsson is not in favor of dumping suppliers just because they might use some products from the Congo. "If we found out our suppliers were getting tantalum from the Congo, we wouldn't kick them out, that would not help," says the company's Pellback-Scharp. "We would rather try to influence them" to stop doing business there. But, he adds, "If there was a huge international boycott, we would support it."
The demand for coltan is not going away. As global consumers continue to crave the newest cell phone and the latest computer, high-tech companies will continue to pay top dollar for tantalum capacitors, and their suppliers will continue to take tantalum from wherever it is available. Whether an unregulated industry can effectively police itself based on good faith and written assurances is questionable. But one thing is sure: The links between the cell phones and computers we use every day and the devastation taking place now in the Congo can no longer be ignored.
IDEA From Faith Warner: a sort of psychological/emotional recovery camp as well as a drug rehab for men, women, or children who escape, are broken out of, or quit prostitution. there would be no time limit on how long they stay. idealy quality counseling and drug rehab services would be provided.
PURPOSE: it is many times the case that while in prostitution/sex slavery the man, woman, or child becomes addicted to drugs either as a coping mechanism or by force from their pimp. if freedom does ever come, it can be that very addiction that drives them back to prostitution. i want a place they could go where they could cope and have help coping with the addiction as well as all the other soul-raping experiences from their time in the sex trade. the idea is to put love into action in a practical way, to provide a service where there is great need.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: become dually trained and specialized in both psychological counseling as well as substance abuse counseling. get to know sex workers personally, make them your friends and gain a true understanding of what you would be dealing with. sex workers are everywhere, in every city in every country. this is an achievable action.
IDEA From David Spinrad: Chocolate Moses, a slave-free/fair trade, kosher, organic chocolate figurine that is shaped like Moses and tastes like freedom - sweet with a touch of saltiness from our tears.
As one of the main themes of the Jewish festival of Passover is the liberation of the Israelite slaves from the bondage of Egypt, Chocolate Moses will be sold during the Jewish festival of Passover.
The back of the Chocolate Moses box will briefly educate consumers about child slavery in the chocolate industry in Ivory Coast and will contain information how they can help end slavery.
Additionally, Chocolate Moses will be a tzedakah (literally: righteous or justice) project for religious schools, giving children an opportunity to raise awareness and funds within their communities. For these groups, Chocolate Moses will include a teaching module for educators to enhance the learning opportunity.
PURPOSE: 100% of the profits will go to ending child slavery in the chocolate industry.Additionally, the act of buying and eating Chocolate Moses reinforces my belief that social action and making a positive difference in the world can be as fun and feel as good as eating a piece of chocolate!
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Contact me at spinrad @ earthlink.net or through my website www.unorthodoxrabbi.com. My phone number is 415.686.1346. I am looking for people who can help me to bring my idea to life!
IDEA From Brian Howe: Slips of red paper inserted into the Christmas gifts you're already giving. The paper just reads, "Merry Christmas. I hope you really enjoy this gift. It's an act of love and it shouldn't be limited to just you and I. With more slaves in the world today than were shipped during the entire 'slave trade', it's possible that slaves helped make this. There's a grassroots movement to demand companies ensure their products are slave free. Ask whether any slaves helped make this gift. Visit chainstorereaction.com or call ____ to find out how. Remember that 'Justice is what love looks like in public' (Cornel West, speaking in the Call and Response film)."
PURPOSE: Should be pretty obvious. The purpose is to bring the issue of slavery to a very personal level--I give you a gift out of love, but I don't know that slaves weren't part of the gift. Love should go beyond the gift giver and recipient. You, the recipient, can help me by simply asking a question of the right people, "Is this a slave free product?"
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Help me refine this idea. I'd love to roll it out on whatever scale possible this year.
IDEA From katie crane: Create a book of poetry, essays, and artwork, each linked to an article telling the story of a person enslaved. Tell his or her story on one page and have the emotional, artistic response of another human being to their story on the next page. If something like this were published we could inform so many people about this tragedy and even use the proceeds from book sales to fund the abolitionist movement.
PURPOSE: It allows people to put their feelings about this injustice out in the open and gives them a voice to not only be outraged all alone, but to tell others about the tragedies that occur daily, and to be the voice of those suffering silently, whose words are locked up with them.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Maybe a publisher could take this idea and run with it. I would love to contribute some poetry. I don't know how to make this happen, but if you're reading this and you do, I hope you will do what you can.
IDEA from Christine S: I have done several things today.
1. As a social work student in a Diverse/Vulnerable Populations class this semester, I have asked my instructor to cover the issue of human trafficking when we do our unit on recent immigrants next week.
2. I have also, as a consumer of television programming, asked the Hallmark Channel to run the PSAs from Call + Response on their network. They run PSAs to advocate for animal protection groups - how much more important is it to advocate for protection of human beings who are enslaved.
3. I have also asked Chain Store Reaction to list Walmart on their list of brands to contact in regard to ceasing the marketing of slave-produced goods.
PURPOSE:1. The purpose in the request for my Div/Vuln Pop class was to raise awareness locally of the modern day slave trade to social work students who will then, hopefully, go on to raise awareness of and help end human trafficking, while also inspiring these students to help those who have been victimized by this trade build rewarding, self-directed lives.
2. To bring this issue into parity with animal rights. If we can protect animals, why can't we protect people??
3. To end the reliance on slave-made goods by Walmart and its customers, who are generally not aware of the conditions under which goods are manufactured.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: 1. Call out all university and college professors in the Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, and Business departments to bring this issue up in their classes, to make students aware of the scourge of modern day slavery, and get those students thinking about how they can help end this tragedy.
2. Contact your favorite media networks and tell them to contact the producers of Call + Response for PSAs to be broadcast on their networks.
3. Contact ALL box-type department stores and tell them you don't want to buy slave-made goods, that they need to verify and certify that they don't inadvertently or willfully support human slavery. If they won't, then find another place to spend your money.
IDEA From Ryan Holly: students can donate their old CD's that they don't listen to as much and you can have a used CD sale with all proceeds going to the cause. i experimented with this idea for an Invisible Children fund raiser and it worked well.
IDEA: this idea is a little out there, but what if American citizens protested by not paying their taxes until our government took a strong stance against companies who use methods of slavery to produce their products, and many of our consumer goods.
PURPOSE:the purpose would to be to threaten the politicians by taking away their pay. most politicians aren't phased until it hits their pocket book
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
they can refuse to pay their taxes, and mean it! they can't throw all of us in jail, especially if we expose slavery for what it is, and how our government whose politicians receive funds by huge corporations that are involved in slavery.
IDEA: from angie rodrigues-webster: okay, i got another idea. you know those anti-tobacco commercials that SHOW the victims of cancer. well what about a t.v. campaign like that but about slavery and human trafficking
PURPOSE: give those who are hypnotized by the TV a visual reality of what's really going on with slavery and what companies support it. show images, or undercover clips of human trafficking and the children involved. then put down the website info so they can learn more.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: i know running a t.v. spot is super expensive, but those in the art and film world, like students, could help out. they might even get credit from their teachers to be involved in such a thing. so you get students to help out, which lessen the cost of producing the TV spots, and hold benefit concerts and sell fair trade food items to raise money and awareness! maybe even have a battle if the bands. and a few celebrity guest speakers wouldn't hurt either.
IDEA: from Allison Combs I am getting ready to host a fundraiser for love146, I have only recently learned about this organization...your next in line!
I am hosting a Fashion for the Cause (love146) on Nov. 20th in the STL area! I have some friends that own some clothing boutiques and will be giving 14.6% of all the profits (of clothing bought) to love146! We are charging $20 for tickets for admission which will include a wine tasting, chair massage, food, gift bags (full of info. on how they can personlly contribute and get involved), and a silent auction!
PURPOSE: Our purpose is to educate others in the horrible current act of child slavery and raise money for love 146! Our goal is only $500 (trying to be realistic) for our 1st fundraiser.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: contact me if you live in the STL area (on the IL side of the river) if you are intrested! love_laugh_liv @ yahoo.com
IDEA From Kendis Paris: I Raise awareness about modern day slavery locally.
PURPOSE:Let others know it exists and give them tangible action steps so that they can join the fight.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Get a partner and plan a conference, or dinner or luncheon in order to bring awareness to your sphere of influence and beyond. There are all kinds of ways to help get the word out. Bring in a local speaker from an anti-human trafficking organization to train folks in how to identify h.t. victims, or show a anti-human trafficking movie, or host a dinner in your own home where these ideas are discussed. My neighbor and I felt compelled to raise awareness and just put on a conference where over 300 folks came, most who had never heard about human trafficking before (for details see www.htacdenver.com).
IDEA From Kari Ortiz (karis.muses @ gmail.com): I created a community on the popular journaling service Livejournal.com and a facebook group dedicated to sharing information about human trafficking. Weekly updates provide news articles on developments around the world, keep tabs on trafficking cases, and follow the work and needs of abolitionist NGOs. We look for reliable slavery-free products and report on businesses without ethical labor practices.
PURPOSE:Mobilize people by gathering resources all to one source so they can stay on top of the issues and know who and how to help in a timely fashion. Bring awareness with a focus on action
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Join our groups or create your own blog or online community and update it frequently with news and information to help others be informed.
IDEA from Amanda Feldmann: Hold a benefit blues dance -- or series of dances. Have some showcase dances using some songs from call + response. Discuss blues history/ ties to slavery.
PURPOSE: Raise awareness among dancers and make money for the movement. Build community by having common goals.
IDEA from Tanya Wagner: Have state rep.'s (US) for this organization. Have the state rep.'s (or in main cities of the states depending how big the area is)advocate in the communities and with organizations that are local. From there branch out into communities and have that state rep be in charge of advocating with community organizations. Once you get communities involved, they will spread and want to go world wide with this epidemic. From there get rep.' into each country to partner with what is already there to help and to advocate at the embassy's with the man power of the supporters in the US and elsewhere.
PURPOSE:Awareness of the organziation and the problem and ways people can reach out and help the problem here in the US and other places.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Wear shirts, have churches, organizations sponsor individual kids and people who are victims. When you individualize it, it makes it more personable and people want to get involved more.
IDEA: from Emily Rains Have an anti-slavery day. We have mother's day, and father's day, and valentine's day. Why not have an anti-slavery day?
PURPOSE: Raise awareness.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: - ask your city, state, or national govenment to adopt a day on the calendar as anti-slavery day.
- makr the day that slavery was abolished in your country through laws and use it as a reminded that slavery still exists.
IDEA From Christian Elliott: To enable all walks of Life to become angels. Putting their compassion into action and enabling the empowerment of all children.
PURPOSE:Global Angels is an innovative international children's charity championing the needs of children around the world. We have an ambitious vision to inspire millions of people, from all walks of life, to become 'Angels', by putting their compassion into action.
We will be hosting an ongoing series of high profile creative Global Angels concerts, events and television programs. Funds raised will support established, long-term development projects that are making a significant impact in the lives of children. Projects are being selected from the UK and every country across the globe.
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO IN SCHOOLS:
Become Angels, support the cause and attend events around the world. watch this space - www.globalanges.org
IDEA: from Adam Buynak (ambuynak @ yahoo.com) Host a benefit concert donating all proceeds to the effort. Bringing in a combination of local musicians and national acts to peform for the cause.
PURPOSE: Music reaches people on a universal level and a concert would provide the oppertunity to inform the community about this issue. If these musicians can provide a reason to bring out a following all money made from the event can be donated off to the front lines to continue the effort to hopefully abolish child slavery.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: 1. The same. Find a local church or venue who will take on this project.
2. Donate a portion of the proceeds of a recording.
IDEA From Camille Jackson: Have a contest between schools world wide raising money for the cause(child slavery). Each school can have a club to help raise money
PURPOSE:Raise money to help end child slavery.
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO IN SCHOOLS:
- start a club in your school
- create a downloadable curriculum for schools & home schools to make kids aware of the way other kids are forced to live around the world
- have kids create hand painted banners than can be displayed in the community
- hold a sale of items produced by rescued slaves
- create a theater production that brings attention to the issue
IDEA From Zach Hunter(loosechangetoloosenchains @ gmail.com):Loose Change to Loosen Chains - an entirely student led campaign to help free slaves.
PURPOSE:Mobilize and equip students to raise awareness and funds to end slavery. Remove the age barrier so children as young as preschool and college students can all work to be a voice and bring real help.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Launch LC2LC in your community. We send you all of the tools. Through change collection, t-shirt sales and story telling, you cultivate a community of abolitionists.
IDEA: from Brian Boulay Recruit lawyers to represent human trafficking victims in civil suits, maybe even class-action suits. Like Wilberforce, we need to change the risk/reward relationship to make trafficking a less attractive option for criminal enterprises. Make those who participate financially liable, and you will see greater cooperation in enforcement.
PURPOSE: To provide compensation to victims and reduce the financial incentives for punters to exploit.
IDEA: from Daniel Bercu (drbercu @ comcast.net) Iana Matei, founder of Reaching Out - a program to rescue, restore and reintegrate victims of human trafficking in Romania - is building a hotel in the Carpathian Mountains of Central Romania. This is a nonprofit venture and all proceed will go to support the safe house along with other projects that are involved in this fight.
PURPOSE: This project will help target several of the root causes of human trafficking by providing jobs for young women in the region, by getting produce from farmers in the area, furniture from craftsmen, and by supporting the work of Reaching Out which is to rescue and restore victims of human trafficking.
IDEA From Alexa Shaich (alexa_shaich @ Hotmail.com): For my senior project in highschool, I hosted a benefit dinner to riase awareness about human trafficking and money for the International Justice Mission. I asked a local church to donate a multipurpose room for the evening. Local caterers to donate one appetizer, entree or dessert. And I had my brothere create a website to get the word out. (www.endhumanslavery.com) IJM became involved and sent a speaker, I also had a detective from the Seattle Police Dept. speak at the dinner. I invited teachers from my school, and asked them to send it to people they knew, About 100 people attended the dinner and we raised $5000 for IJM.
PURPOSE:To spread the word about this cause. Many people don't know a lot about this issue, by hosting a community event I was able to get the information out to a lot of people at one time.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
So many people in your community will be willing to donate something to the cause. This was a great way to get the word out about this issue, and teach people what they can do to help.
IDEA: Promo produced for MTV EXIT campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking - This clip is rights-free and can be used by any broadcaster, website, organization, or individual.
PURPOSE: distribute, share, show and raise awareness! See other MTV EXIT videos here.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Viva La No-Copyrights - make something and encourage people to take it, adapt it and share it. What a novel idea!!!
IDEA:LILY BEACHAM - Artist, surfer, model, "I have been a professional model since I was 18 and have selfishly spent most of my time seeking what life could offer me. There has always been an unsatisfactory tug at the core of my heart in this self-seeking lifestyle, though all I seemed to be able to do was constantly read about those living in Africa and places where there were millions in need, unable to ever know even one percent of the opportunity I had been handed. This tug has now turned into my life, my whole being knows it was made to somehow bring relief and freedom to those suffering. Funny, but I found a place here in Southern California, where I can use my resources from modeling and my true heart for those in need by throwing well rounded, educational fundraisers to raise awareness here and provide funding to people suffering in places like Sudan, Kenya, and India. Through film, art, and music, we give a voice and a face to those that would otherwise never be heard or seen."
PURPOSE: Last October we were able to raise $25,000 for Love Mercy, an organization that drills fresh water wells, allowing them to continue farming projects in the remote mountainous areas of Kenya and Sudan. Recently I have studied the far-reaching problems of human trafficking and slavery and am proud to be a part of the Not for Sale Campaign. I feel that of all the humanitarian issues that exist, slavery and sex trafficking are the worst and most largely ignored. I believe that once you become aware of these atrocities, you take on a responsibility to act--no matter if you are a surfer or an accountant, there are ways to help.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Find out what you are good at - and do it to fight slavery!
IDEA: Olympic and World Champion figure skater Brian Boitano joins the Free to Play campaign. Create a personal or team challenge to help raise funds and awareness for the Not For Sale campaign and make sure that ALL children are free to play. 100% of your contribution goes to our five stakeholders fighting slavery on the frontlines.
PURPOSE:...Not for Sale is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade.
Every single person has a skill that they can give to free an individual living in bondage.
Article 31 of The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. It also encourages the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.
FREE TO PLAY is free to be alive, free to be a child.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Upload a video join our group at http://www.youtube.com/group/
freetoplaycampaign. Selected videos will be featured on this channel and the Not For Sale campaign website. For more information about the Not For Sale campaign, please visit the official website.
IDEA: Created by the Not For Sale Campaign - these drink coasters & coffee sleeves feature the U.S. domestic human trafficking hotline. (888-3737-888)
PURPOSE:Take Action! Spread the word about the realities of human trafficking throughout your community. These Coasters display the National Trafficking Hotline on the back. Your distribution of these throughout your community will inform witnesses so they can make reports, and victims so they can find help and safety. *$25.00 buys 125 Coasters
Take Action! Spread the word about the realities of human trafficking throughout your community. These Coffee Sleeves display the National Trafficking Hotline. Your distribution of these throughout your community will inform witnesses so they can make reports, and victims so they can find help and safety. *$25.00 buys 125 Coffee Sleeves*
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Buy them & hand them out at local eateries. Make & print your own!
IDEA: Free slaves then give them an opportunity to earn a living. Freesetbags.com does that with former prostitutes in North Calcutta.
PURPOSE: Each Freeset Bag tells a story of one woman's journey to freedom. She used to stand with 6,000 other prostitutes in a small but well known area of North Calcutta. She didn't choose her profession; it chose her. Poverty does that. It robs people of their dignity and children of their innocence.
She still lives in the same area, but instead of selling her body she makes Freeset Bags. Now she has choices, the choice to work decent hours for decent pay, to re-establish her dignity in her community and to learn to read and write. Now her daughter won't have to stand in the street selling her body like her mother used to. Freedom has been passed on to the next generation.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Buy products here. Design your own product and have them create it!
IDEA:MTVSTREAKER.com A very edgy PSA TV commercial and website aired in the U.K.
PURPOSE: International sporting events are magnets for human trafficking - the short lived events bring a demand for sex. MTV EXIT and director Dominic Murphy created this television ad to wake people up to the tragedy of trafficing.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Email this website to friends. Go make something like it!
IDEA:GetYourOwnSlave.com - An interactive website that asks you to put yourself in the shoes of someone ordering a trafficked slave.
PURPOSE: A group called "The Over Underground Railroad" forces website visitors to answer questions like "how old do you want your slave" - requiring them to think about the issue. The site ends with a controversial productization of slaves and opportunity to get 10 collector trading cards if you make a $50 donation to one of several organizations.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: 1. Order the "Get Your Own Slave" trading cards and share them with friends.
2. Create a website that has viral distribution potential to educate people about the need.
IDEA: Rent or Netflicks a film on the slavery and invite someone to watch it with you!
PURPOSE: Film can reach out and touch a heart in way that other forms of media can't. There are some excellent films out there.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Films available for rent or purchase:
- Traffic
- Human Trafficking
- Holly
- Cargo
- Invisible Children
- Not For Sale Documentary
- Free the Slaves
PURPOSE: This song by JSSemp was written about a victim of human trafficking to expose the issue to all who hear it Jeff is playing it for a few women who work with these victims.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Write a song. Performer it! Record it! Film It! Share It!
IDEA: Do a report or school project on the topic of modern slavery.
PURPOSE: Patrick Bell created this video as a student at Seattle University to bring more attention to the subject of modern slavery.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: In high school, home school or a college setting
choose the subject of modern slavery as a:
...- debate or speech subject
...- community group or club lecture
...- research project
...- written report
...- book review
...- website project
...- video, sculpture, art, photo or performance project
here is another student film - SOLD by Laura Jones
IDEA: Posters that educate your community about human trafficking.
PURPOSE: After previewing these posters in PDF form here, you may contact us at dhs.ilrescueandrestore@illinois.gov to obtain copies of them to hang in your community. These posters, provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services, are available in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: 1. Request or print out these posters and hang them in your community - church bulletin boards, coffee shops. community centers.
2. Create your own posters.
IDEA: Venmai is a short film inspired by a true story about a young girl's sexual torment in an estate due to modern day bonded slavery. Venmai was done in a very low budget and the complete shooting of Venmai was done in 14 hours without any prior rehearsal. Some of the actors were also selected in the estate and trained on the spot. Some of the actual facts have been altered for dramatical purposes. Venmai was shot on December 25th 2006.
PURPOSE: S.Balachandran: I'm an independent film maker who make films in different types of genre and I'm very dedicated & passionate about film making. I try to make films which are unique & entertaining. Some are serious to make a point and some are just for pure entertainment. I hope my films would gain a warm place in the heart of the masses.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Create a short film that tells the story of slavery.
IDEA: PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetic line to give all of its after tax distributable profits to Women's Health Advocacy and Human Rights issues.
PURPOSE: PeaceKeeper is not a project created by a few women and the men who love us. For PeaceKeeper to work, many women (and the men who love us) are involved on all levels. Therefore, just by buying a few products you become a PeaceKeeper. The women and men in our lives who sell PeaceKeeper in stores are part of this movement to raise funds for those most in need. The women and men who write about us and the buyers who make the buying decision to bring us into their stores’Ķ Together we can look back in 20 years and feel we contributed to raising $200-$300 million to help lift up women and children in the greatest need’Ķ.
THINGS YOU CAN DO: 1. Support all-benefit companies like Peacekeeper by buying their products.
2. Start your own all-benefit company. all-benefit companies are companies that give all of their distributable profits to charity after taxes, debt repayment, financing costs and reasonable working capital reserves. click for a list of companies in the all-benefit sector that have taken paul newman’Äôs business model and applied it to products/services in different vertical market segments. each company has slightly different structures and guidelines as well as values to a lender/investor. however, they are all committed to building sustainable companies that give their distributable profits to charities. click here for guidelines.
IDEA: Latin musician Ricky Martin is using his star power to launch "Llama y Vive" or "Call and Live," a campaign to prevent human trafficking from Latin America and also provide services for victims. "Call and Live" has already been implemented in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Nicaragua. Now, it's expanding to five more Latin American countries. In partnership with The Inter-American Development Bank and the non-governmental organization Ayuda and the DC Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs.
PURPOSE: The campaign aims to reach 100,000 Latinos in the D.C. area with prevention messages about human trafficking and provide access to legal and social services for victims through a Spanish-language hotline. Call and Live has been implemented in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru and Nicaragua, where it has triggered more than 55.000 relevant calls to the national hotlines, 60 police investigations, and the rescue of at least a dozen victims.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
1. share the victim hotline: 1-888-NO-TRATA (888-668-7282)
IDEA: THE JOURNEY is an art installation created by a group of artists in response to the suffering experienced by a trafficked woman. There are seven shipping containers; each one representing an aspect of this experience. Created by the Helen Bamber Foundation - click here to see part of the installation in 3D VR.
PURPOSE: The aim of Journey is to bring the reality of the sex trafficking industry to the forefront of social consciousness and empower people to take action. Shackles bind perpetrators to victims, and victims to the punters who exploit them. The links extend to every level of society even to the organizations that care for the victims. They extend down the halls of government who pledge to act and pass laws to stamp out trafficking. The links form an invisible chain that binds us all together. It is the chain of modern day slavery. Read about the seven stages of the journey.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
1. Create your own art installation that tells the story of modern slavery.
2. Contact the Bamber Foundation to see if the "Journey" is traveling to your area.
3. Sign the Helen Bamber Foundation petition here.
IDEA: Organize churches and synagogues in your area to work with law enforcement to provide a safe haven/shelter for human trafficing victims.
PURPOSE: To find beds and safe refuge for those who are rescued from a life of slavery. Currently there are over 2000 local faith organizations in the Not For Sale Campaign network but more are needed.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Team up with the Not For Sale Campaign and enroll local faith communities to hang the orange banner signifying that they are a safe haven. Contact a Not For Sale state director here.
IDEA: The Emancipation Network(madebysurvivors.com) helps survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery by providing sustainable income - they sell beautiful fair trade handicrafts made by survivors at 22 shelters and prevention programs all over the world.
PURPOSE: They also offer a way to become involved in fighting human trafficking, helping survivors, and educating others about this human rights crisis. The Emancipation Network is helping to create a community of modern abolitionists in the US ’Äì everyday people who want to help end slavery.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
1.
Host a Home Party Awareness Event: If you want to help educate your friends or community, consider hosting an awareness event
2. Become a TEN Ambassador
3. Visit their Store
4. Become a volunteer. Do you have other skills that you would like to use in this cause, such as clothing or jewelry design, web or graphic design, or accounting? Are you a doctor, nurse, artisan or teacher who would like to share you skills at an anti-slavery shelter as a short or long-term volunteer?
IDEA:Radiohead produced a video of two parallel stories running, one of a little boy in the West and one of a little boy in a sweatshop in the East, and the boy [in the West] ends up buying the shoes from the sweatshop.
PURPOSE: The video broadcasting globally, aims to raise awareness of human trafficking. The lead singer, Thom Yorke, and his bandmates produced the music video together with MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) for "All I Need," a song from their In Rainbows album. The video was filmed in Australia by Oscar-winning cinematographer John Seale and director Steve Rogers.
"I think it's important for everyone in the West or on High Street to understand the consequences of our economic activity. You must be aware of the level of exploitation that's going on, It's part of our Western life, and one we should accept responsibility for. There's no such thing as a free lunch or a free ticket to another country." - Thom Yorke
THINGS YOU CAN DO: Share this video. Create your own video.
IDEA: Rob Morris named a nonprofit Love146 after a girl that he and his friends met in a brothel during an undercover investigation. It is a true story of the power of one.
PURPOSE: This artistic + powerful video hits home with the inspirational story of why Love146 was started. "In her eyes we found a calling. Her number represents the multitudes. Love protects. Love Defends. Love Restores. Love Empowers.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
1.
Share with your circle of friends organizations that are making a difference.
2. Find something that moves your soul and do something about it.
3. Checkout & buy the cool ethically sourced apparel created by Love146.
4. Tell the story of slavery and injustice with the same impact Love146 has done in this video!
