January 2010 National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month

On January 5th, President Obama made a proclamation declaring
January 2010 as the
NATIONAL SLAVERY & HUMAN TRAFFICKING MONTH

26 Things You Can Do To Make a Difference

January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day ~ 20 Things You Can Do

• Today 27 million people are held in slavery
• 80% are Sex Slaves & Female
• 60% are Children
• 100,000 – 300,000 domestic minors are being lured into prostitution yearly
• The average age of a prostitute in the USA is 12-14 years old
• Every minute 2 children are being forced into sex slavery worldwide
• 90% of adult sex workers were victims of sexual abuse as children
• Florida is the #2 state for human trafficking (Texas #1 & California #3)
• Every year more than 1 million children are forced into global commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)
• Human trafficking will be the #1 crime worldwide in 2010

Most people don’t know that in 2007 the United States Senate designated January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

20 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

1. Refuse to be part of the problem by being apathetic and doing nothing. Be pro-active.
2. Contact your organization, club, and church leaders to facilitate an event to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking.
3. Invite a Beauty From Ashes™ over-comer to share their personal story of triumph
4. Schedule a Beauty From Ashes™ Reach, Rescue, and Restore training on how to effectively do outreach and provide survivor-centered services to victims.
5. Read the National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, so you can be educated and informed.
6. Watch and repost human trafficking videos from the Beauty From Ashes™ Youtube page.
7. Follow us and challenge your friends to do so as well. Repost and share the information we post:

BFA BLOG
BFA FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
BFA MYSPACE
BFA TWITTER

8. Start following human trafficking news on twitter. Retweet relevant news stories by adding a tag #.
9. Find out if your area has a local human trafficking task force and get involved. If your area doesn’t have one, contact your Sheriff’s department and coordinate the establishment of one.
10. Contact your local newspaper to see if they are running a story on human trafficking for the Awareness Day; if not, encourage them to do so and tell them about Beauty From Ashes™.
11. Find out about local slavery abolitionist groups in your area and volunteer your time.
12. Produce artwork that raises awareness about the issue of human trafficking. Take a picture and send the images to Beauty From Ashes™ Founder, JulietheArtist.
13. Take up a collection in your office, care group, Sunday school, or church service. Donate to bring hope through Beauty From Ashes™.
14. Sponsor a fundraiser for Beauty From Ashes™, ideas include: bake sale, car wash, marathon, bikeathon, swimathon, danceathon, walkathon, or garage sale.
15. Ask if your employer has a donor-match program for charity donations. Tell them about Beauty From Ashes™.
16. Businesses, please consider donating a percentage of your profits to Beauty From Ashes™.
17. Sponsor a resident survivor's basic care needs in the FREEdom™ Home ($600/month).
18. Sponsor a BFA outreach to victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and human trafficking. ($50-100/month)
19. Sponsor a BFA Rahab's Hope Fund candidate, a survivor of CSE & human trafficking, to go to school and acquire a higher education degree. (LPN & Cosmetology)
20. Sign up for BFA E-Newsletter and forward our email and blog link to 10 of your friends.

"The biggest hurdle for those of us who work in the anti-trafficking field is the simple lack of awareness of trafficking as a social issue, as a crime (by understanding the criminal elements, or definition), and understanding there is a pretty strong anti-trafficking response if you just know where to look.

Remember, if one of the toughest hurdles we have as abolitionists is the lack of knowledge about trafficking, one of the most important things to do is inform others." -John Vanek

BEAUTY FROM ASHES™ was founded by an over-comer of CSE & human trafficking. We have been providing assistance to victims of CSE & human trafficking since 2005.

BEAUTY FROM ASHES™ MISSION:
To prevent, rescue and restore victims of sex trafficking.

BEAUTY FROM ASHES™ PURPOSE:
To educate the community, advocate for the victims, implement reach, rescue and restore programs and provide safe homes where they can go to heal emotionally. mentally, physically and spiritually. These are homes where victims will receive comfort, security, safety, love and learn to become over- comers.

God is passionate about the fatherless, orphans, afflicted & the homeless.

"Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked."

Psalm 82:3-4 NASB

All donations are tax deductible. Write check to Beauty From Ashes and mail to 5100 S. Cleveland Avenue, Suite 318-148, Fort Myers, FL 33907 or give securely online HERE

Thank you for joining us and becoming a slavery abolitionist in 2010. Together we are better & can make a difference!

Passionate about seeing victims & survivors become over-comers,

Steve, Julie & the FREEdom™ Team
Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries

P.S. See ADDITIONAL THINGS TO DO in Comments below.