Local Event: West Chicagoland Anti-Trafficking Mixer May 1st

Do You Know About Amazon Smile?

Did you know you can raise money for your favorite charity or non-profit organization just by shopping online with Amazon?

It's true!  And it's really easy.

It's called Amazon Smile and you use it the same way you use Amazon.  It has the same products and pricing as Amazon.  You even use the same account, password, wish list and other account settings as Amazon. 

If you already have an Amazon account simply log in to www.smile.amazon.com. 

Once you are logged in you can search from over a million charity organizations.  You can even search by category.  A simple search of "trafficking" resulted in 543 choices including such great organizations as:

Polaris Project
Refuge For Women
Agape International Mission
Truckers Against Trafficking
Exodus Cry

Simply select the organization of your choice and start shopping as you normally would.  The organization you chose will automatically be saved for future purchases.  And you can change your selection at any time.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchase to you selected choice.

And that makes me smile!

To learn more go Here

IL Action Alert: Support Bill For Increased Resources For Trafficking Survivors

Illinois: Ask your lawmakers to support S.B. 3558

Did you know that the National Human Trafficking Resource Center has received reports of more than 350 cases of sex trafficking in Illinois? We know that there are so many more victims out there that we haven't heard from, and who are in need of shelter, food, counseling, legal help, and educational support to escape and rebuild their lives.

You can help dramatically increase resources for victims of sex trafficking in your state. A new bill (SB 3558) has been introduced in the state legislature that will create a special fund for service providers who offer essential support for trafficking survivors. The fund would be created from fines against traffickers and buyers of commercial sex, forfeiture and impoundment proceedings, and specialty license plates. Through SB 3558, those who exploit and profit off of victims of sex trafficking will now help pay for the recovery of these survivors.

Please tell your state representative to support this bill today:

Send Your Letter

April Local Events

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April 9th:  IJM Stand For Freedom

Stand with us for 24 hours to forever change your community's awareness of the everyday violence of those trapped in modern day slavery.

Locate an event near you, donate or sign the petition here: Stand For Freedom

April 10th: Modern Day Slavery 7:00- 8:30

Schaumburg Library - Rasmussen Room
130 S. Roselle Rd., Schaumburg
Presenter Susan Miura will explain more about this crime, what is being done and what you can do. Speakers include two Chicago-based FBI agents and representatives of Bright Hope and the Dalit Freedom Network. Information packets will be provided. Light refreshments will be served. To register, call (847) 923-3347 or stop by the Information Desk on the library's second floor.
 
April 16th: Take Back The Night from 6:00 - 9:00 pm
McHenry County College Leucht Conference Center
8900 Hwy 14, Crystal Lake
Join us in illuminating the darkness surrounding sexual violence. Starting at 6:00 will be a Resource Fair in the Commons area with many organizations represented. Speakers will begin at 6:30 in Luecht Conference Center. Sarah Mathe from Voice, Molly Horton from Turning Point, Katie Gaughan from Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation will be discussing issues surrounding this topic and taking questions. Survivors will be speaking. A march around campus will follow and end at the peace pole with a fire pit for a moment of reflection. All are invited.

April 14th & 17th: "Half The Sky" Documentary Viewing 7 p.m Schaumburg Library - Audiovisual Theatre
130 S. Roselle Rd., Schaumburg

The documentary "Half the Sky" (NR) will be shown in two parts at 7 p.m. Monday, April 14 and Thursday, April 17. "Half the Sky" urges people to bear witness to the plight of the world's women and help to transform their oppression into opportunity.

April 21st:  "Trade of Innocents" (PG13) 7 p.m
Schaumburg Library - Audiovisual Theatre
130 S. Roselle Rd., Schaumburg
The story takes place in present day Southeast Asia, where children are for sale in dark alleys and secret rooms. Twists unfold against the backdrop of the dangerous human trafficking world, in a story of struggle, life, hope and redemption. Registration is not required for the documentary or movie.

April 23rd: "Half The Sky" Book Discussion from 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Schaumburg Library - Rasmussen Room
130 S. Roselle Rd., Schaumburg
The library's non-fiction book club, Second Floor Reads, will discuss Half the Sky, Changing Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn,  Visit the Information Desk on the second floor to register. Loan copies of the book are available on a first-come, first-served basis upon registration.
For more information, contact Anna Pederson at apederson@stdl.org or (847) 923-3326.



May 1st:  West Chicagoland Anti-Trafficking Coalition Mixer 7:00 pm
Missions Place by TEAM
370 W Front Street, Wheaton
Downtown Wheaton at the TEAM'S Missions Place for a casual evening of visiting, sharing what is going on in our community, and a short panel discussion with key local leaders on human trafficking. Refreshments will be served. Come and learn how you can make a difference!
 

Save the Date!

May 10th:  Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Training Seminar
Willow Creek Church Crystal Lake
220 Exchange Parkway, Crystal Lake
Victims of human trafficking may look like many of the people you see everyday.  Would you be able to recognize them if you came in contact with one?  Would you know what signs to look for?   Would you know what questions to ask or who to call?  This seminar will prepare you to recognize the commercial exploitation of children, identify the risk factors and much more.  Agenda and cost information can be found  Here

Space is limited. 

Register Here

Alone - A Guest Post From My Daughter

Yesterday I was going through the things my daughter took out of her backpack from school.  A majority of the papers get thrown away and I must admit that she comes home with so many writing assignments that I don't read each and every one.  But yesterday, one of her papers grabbed my attention and I stopped to read it.  I'm so glad I did, because it was really good. 

So good that I want to share it with all of you today.

She said it was simply a creative writing assignment.  They could write about any subject and it could be a story or a newspaper article or any other type of writing.

I am impressed by her creativity and how closely it relates to girls who are at risk for trafficking.

From an 11 year old girl...

Alone

It's my 14th birthday and here I am out on the streets hungry, scared, lost, not knowing why bad things have to happen to anyone.  I can still remember the day my mother died.  It was the worst day of my life.  I was eight years old.  My mother was the only one who worked in the family.  She was on her way home from work one day when she got in a really, really bad car wreck.  Only a few that were there survived.  My mother was not one of them.

My Dad didn't always smoke, but ever since my mom died he started and couldn't stop.  My Dad never did get a job.  In fact, he never even tried to get a job.  But he needed money for his addiction.  So his solution to get money was to rob the bank.  I told him it was the wrong idea, but he just ignored me and kept on doing what he was doing.  In case you were wondering, he did get caught.  Anyways, my Dad was taken away from me and brought to jail when I was just 10 years old.  In a way I was forced to leave my home and everything I had.  And ever since then I've been out in the cold.

Four years I've been out here.  Cold, Hungry, Lost, digging through garbage cans searching for leftover scraps of food.  Very rarely will I ever find anything.  Every once in a while, only if I'm very lucky, I'll find a few dollars on the ground and I'll be so happy and Ill run straight to the Super Market and buy as much food as I can with the money I have found.  All the change I get I save up to buy a big, big, perhaps even a lifetime supply of food.

I've made a little, yes I mean little, shelter in the woods, but it keeps warm enough in the winter.  Back home I used to watch that survival show.  I've learned many things from that show like which berries are poison and which berries are safe to eat and how to build a nice warm campfire.  It's pretty lonely around here.  I have nobody to talk to.  Not that I had any friends back home either.  I just hope that I won't always be as alone as I am right now.