30 days; 1 dress

To raise awareness about this cause I have pledged to wear the same dress for the month of April. The dress is just a tool to start the conversation. I have also made a button to wear that says, ask me about my dress with the LOVE 146 logo. The idea is that the button/dress will spark the conversation to tell people about this cause and how to get involved.

Today is the end of the 2nd day. Yesterday I was privileged to hear a sex-trafficking survivor speak and tell her story. I found myself shaking my head in disgust, crying, frustrated, sad, disturbed, empowered and hopeful.

I've read a lot of statistics about the problem which are awful but to hear the personal insight was really disturbing.

Here are the most interesting and devastating things I learned:

*She was trafficked in Texas - not a far away, developing country!
* Her traffickers moved the children around between 4 hubs located in:

1. Nevada
2. California
3. Florida....and
4. Allegheny - right here in NY (this is not a distant problem - it is in our backyards)! 

* When she gained their trust she learned their secrets - she learned about the corruption. Senators, celebrities, athletes, DA's, police officers - were all involved.

*In 2004, the first time she was ready to tell her story she was speaking before congressmen. The FBI people in the room cut her off during her story - affirmation that they too were involved.

*Some states have not adopted laws to protect victims of trafficking. In states like Texas, an 8-year-old girl was registered as a sex offender because she was forced into prostitution.

*She told a story of other girls (and boys) that were held captive in the same place as her. She told a story of a little girl who had been enslaved since the age of 5. She didn't know her birthday and could not remember her parents. Life as a sex slave was all she knew. 

*The "prime time" for trafficking boys was while they are between the ages of 3 - 13. When the boys turned 13 they were trained to become recruiters. 

The story was enraging and sad but if I took one thing away from hearing it, it's a stronger commitment to fighting for justice and an end to modern day slavery. 

What about you? Will you join me in becoming a modern day abolitionist? 

I finally got all the materials that I ordered for my dress campaign. There are a couple things I will be utilizing to spread awareness and to gain donations. 

Pins/Stickers

For people who can't commit to wearing a dress for a whole month...maybe you can commit to wearing a pin, even for a day or putting it on a backpack, purse, anything. So when people ask you can tell them both about the cause and the organization. Maybe you can put a sticker on something. 

I will be selling stickers/pins for a $5 donation. This is any easy way both to give a little something (if you can't give more or be a part of the ride) and to generate awareness. It's an easy way to talk about the cause when people ask about the pin and/or sticker. 

Sticker

Pin 

Me in the dress. Dad sporting a 146 pin. 

LOVE 146 Cards

I also picked up some cards from LOVE 146. The cards give lots of information about the cause and the organization. This way when people ask about my dress I will have some information to give them. 

2 days down...28 to go!