Traffick Free invites you to be a part of our 2013 5k Run Against Traffick promo video filming on June 1st! We need EXTRAS! So if you want to see an end to human trafficking in Chicago and you'd like to volunteer your time to be in a video that will be seen city-wide, online and on the news, this is for you! We need extras of all ages because our 5k is for all ages. Strollers welcome!
Sign-up using the form below and RSVP on our Facebook event page
This quarter's Traffick Free Book Club read is Refuse To Do Nothing: Finding Your Power to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery by Shayne Moore & Kimberly McOwen Yim. This is an invitation to read the book and connect with other readers. There will be a book club meeting on June 12 to discuss it. Even if you cannot make the meeting, let's have a dialogue online at our Facebook event page!
Books are for sale for a suggested donation of $10, contact Sarah Amidon at sarah@traffickfree.org to get your copy. The reading plan is as follows:
Week 1 - 5/15-5/22
Read Intro, Chapters 1-4, and reflect on end of chapter questions
Week 2 - 5/22-5/29
Read Chapters 5-8 and reflect on end of chapter questions
Week 3 - 5-29-6/5
Read Chapters 9-12 and reflect on end of chapter questions
Week 4 - 6/5-6/12
Read Chapters 13-15, Epilogue, and reflect on end of chapter questions
Slavery didn't end in 1833, when William Wilberforce's decades-long campaign finally resulted in the Slavery Abolition Act. It didn't end in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It didn't end in 1949, when the United Nations declared trafficking "incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person." The sad truth is, slavery never ended. It just went underground, where it continues to exploit powerless men, women and children in horrific ways throughout the world.
Now for the good news: you have power.
In Refuse to Do Nothing, "Abolitionist Mamas" Shayne Moore and Kimberly Yim share their stories of coming to terms with the power available to them in their normal, everyday lives to illuminate the shadows where those who traffic in people hide compel corporations to fight slavery in how their products are made motivate politicians to fight for human dignity mobilize friends and strangers alike to fight slavery at home and throughout the world.
Slavery doesn't end without a fight. But get to know Shayne and Kimberly and their abolitionist friends, and you'll find the power God grants to all who fight for the powerless, and the joy awaiting those who refuse to do nothing.
Sign up for this session of our Book Club and to get e-mails about upcoming books we'll be reading together at www.tfjunebookclub.eventbrite.com
The 3rd Annual 5k Run Against Traffick, to be held this year on Saturday, September 7, will give attendees a chance to participate in raising awareness for the injustice of human trafficking in Chicago.
According to the Illinois Rescue and Restore Coalition, upwards of 25,000 women and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Chicago every year. The average age of entry into this life is now estimated to be as young as 11 years old. Once drawn into the life, the average future life expectancy is just seven (7) years. Combining sex trafficking, labor trafficking and domestic servitude, an estimated 27 million people are enslaved around the world - more slaves than spanned the entire 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade.
Traffick Free is doing something about it. We are working in an environment where we can celebrate innovative legislation like the Illinois Safe Children Act that immediately recognizes all those found engaged in commercial sexual exploitation under the age of 18 as victims; progressive collaboration like the weekly Law Enforcement Working Group that engages prosecutors, officers, and social workers to ensure that all cases are victim-centered and not victim-driven; and continued increase of trauma-informed services across the Chicagoland area.
In order to support our current education and awareness initiatives, as well as Traffick Free’s long-term goals to run round-the-clock social services, we are asking hundreds of participants to go the distance, 3.1 miles to be exact. Their presence will help us fulfill our mission to provide the greater metropolitan area of Chicago with tools and sustainable programs to combat human trafficking and transform the lives of victims, perpetrators and communities.
Registration is now open for only $30.00 and includes a takeaway that participants can wear every day to remind themselves what they have accomplished and use as a conversation-starter to engage others in the issue. Goody bags will also include relevant material from several of our partner organizations. This is a family-friendly event from strollers to walkers! As an added bonus, those registering as a group will get the sixth registration free. All information, including the course map, can be seen at traffickfree.org/5k.
The 5k Run Against Traffick, born simply from the knowledge that we needed to engage a larger Chicago community, began in 2011 with only 500 participants. With the 5k almost doubling in size this year, and continuing to grow, we invite attendees to make this an annual event.
