December 2010 Update

This will be our last email update for 2010...can you believe how quickly time flies?! Here are a few updates to keep you up to speed! :)

First, upcoming events!
** 1.17.2011 - next U-ACT meeting
** 3.13.2011 (Freedom Sunday) - 2nd Annual NFS Free2Walk event @ Friedens UCC
--> hosted by U-ACT to benefit the Not For Sale Campaign

** 5.7.2011 - TraffickJam 2011 --> 10 mile walk to benefit the Hard Places
Community.

See below for further info.


New opportunities to fight against trafficking:
1. Julia Spangler is in the process of planning and organizing an ethical
shopping guide! If you would like to be a part of the guide's creation, please
contact Julia.

2. Our friends at the Julian Center and Exodus Refugee have so kindly offered to
bring their volunteer training to us! Our goal is to utilize the January or
February U-ACT meeting for this training. It will be specialized to HT
community outreach. We will update you as soon as we set a definite training
date.
*You no longer need to complete a volunteer application with the Julian Center
or Exodus Refugee if you plan to attend the training during a U-ACT meeting.
However, if you would like to complete the training at the Julian Center or at
Exodus on your own time, you will need to complete and submit an application to
JC or Exodus.

3. Our friend Emily (thanks Emily!!) introduced us to the Pepsi Refresh Project,
an online opportunity for innovative individuals to win grant money for their
great project ideas. Starting February 1st, vote for up to 10 of your favorite
ideas every day. View, vote, and learn more at
http://www.refresheverything.com/. Or, to view HT-specific ideas, follow this
link: http://www.refresheverything.com/search/?q=human+trafficking

4. If you would like to host a fair trade jewelry party, Destiny Rescue is your
contact! Visit
http://www.destinyrescue.org/us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=54

For further info, contact Barbie at usa@destinyrescue.org or call 574-834-1109.

5. Kaylin asked us to share the attached information about an event this Friday.


Other important info:
**Current details on 2011 NFS Free2Walk:
This will be a 3 mile walk located near Friedens UCC. The route
follows the same path as the 2009 NFS walk. If you are interested in helping
plan or organize Free2Walk, please contact us asap!

**Current details on TraffickJam 2011:
TraffickJam 2011 is a Walk-A-Thon event to benefit the Hard Places Community, a
ministry with locations in literal "hard places" of the world...places where
others are too fearful or too unwilling to go and help those who need it most.
One Hard Places Community exists in Cambodia, a country in southeastern Asia
whose sex trade and human trafficking industries are astounding. TraffickJam
2011 will be a nationwide event to raise awareness, spread hope, and raise funds
for the Hard Places Community in Cambodia. U-ACT has decided to act as the
Indiana event coordinator for this walk, so if you are interested in planning,
organizing, or even participating in this event, please contact us asap! :) We
will begin work on this project in January 2011.

**Some members expressed interest in a recent news article...so here it is! :)
FBI: 69 children, 99 pimps found in national bust
(AP) – Nov 8, 2010
WASHINGTON (AP)
More than five dozen child prostitutes have been found in the last three
days as part of a nationwide crackdown on the sexual exploitation of children,
the FBI said Monday.
FBI spokesman Jason Pack said 69 children were removed from prostitution and 99
suspected pimps were arrested in 40 cities across 30 states and the District of
Columbia. Authorities arrested 785 other adults on a variety state and local
charges, Pack said.
All the children found in the last three days have been placed into protective
custody or returned to their families.
The children were found during Operation Cross Country V, a three-day
roundup targeting child traffickers and pimps. The largest group of child
prostitutes, 24, was found in and around Seattle, according to the FBI. FBI
executive assistant director Shawn Henry said the children found ranged in age
from 12 to 17. Authorities are working with the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children to confirm their identities.
Henry said child prostitutes are often recruited by loose knit groups
that seek out kids who may be involved in drugs or runaways looking for a
"responsible adult" to help them.
"There are groups of people out there preying on naive kids who don't have a
good sense of the way of the world," Henry said. "Sometimes there's a threat of
force, threats of violence. A lot these kids operate out of a sense of fear."
Since 2003, when the FBI and the Justice Department launched the
Innocence Lost National Initiative, about 1,250 child prostitutes have been
located and removed from prostitution.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

This is an article from Sojourners that several U-ACT Members asked us to include - Child trafficking arrests. FBI: 69 children, 99 pimps found in national bust “More than five dozen child prostitutes have been found in the last three days as part of a nationwide crackdown on the sexual exploitation of children, the FBI said Monday.” Federal crackdown on child prostitution results in 884 arrests “A three-day federal crackdown on child prostitution rings across the country has resulted in the recovery of 69 children and the arrest of 884 persons, including 99 pimps, federal authorities said Monday.”

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We hope everyone has a very merry and safe Christmas and a happy New Year as
well :)
Thank you for a wonderful year! And, as always, WE LOVE TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS! So
send them our way! :)

Sarah and Laura
co-founders, U-ACT
www.unitedagainstcontemporarytrafficking.blogspot.com
pastorsarah@friedensucc.org
317-709-5857