New Legislative Opportunities to Fight Trafficking!

1. Petition to end forced labor in Vietnam:

All over Vietnam, some 40,000 men, women, and children are being held against their will and forced to work for up to four years in centers run by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor. The victims are held without a hearing or a trial in a court of law after testing positive for illegal drugs. Some people, in desperate need of medical treatment for drug addiction, have even entered the centers voluntarily to find too late that medical treatment is not offered, but that they are not free to leave and now have to work shelling cashews or sewing garments for private companies. Before rewarding Vietnam with the benefits of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership [Free Trade] Agreement, we call on the USTR to join with the United Nations to denounce the Vietnamese Government’s sponsorship of forced labor, and to demand that Vietnam permanently close the forced labor centers.
---> Sign a petition today to call for an end to state-sponsored forced labor in Vietnam: http://action.laborrights.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2769


2. TVPRA in the House!

Just last week, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) was introduced in the House of Representatives. This bi-partisan bill renews and strengthens the legislation that established U.S. programs to fight slavery at home and abroad. Many of you joined us in asking the Senate to pass the TVPRA. Now we have an opportunity to urge the House to do the same - and we need your help.
Current legislation governing U.S. anti-trafficking programs expires in a few short weeks. Let’s remind Congress that they have an opportunity to impact the lives of children, women and men living in slavery today.
---> Please take one minute NOW to urge your Representative to co-sponsor the TVPRA:
https://secure3.convio.net/ijm/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=135&JServSessionIdr004=v1zye7y603.app305a

Freedom Drive

Join us this Friday, July 29 for Freedom Drive, a film screening with a twist!

Where: Friedens UCC
When: 7-9pm
Cost: FREE!

June/July Updates

Hello U-ACT! We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying the hot summer sun!

Below are important updates and this month's meeting agenda. Read on! :)

Many many thank yous to the following people/organizations for their hard work in organizing, hosting, volunteering with, or providing training for various human trafficking awareness events during the past few months:

-Abby, Kaylin, Emily, Brian, and Sharon for your early-morning commitment to spreading awareness at the Mini Marathon!
-Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic for a wonderful awareness forum this past Saturday!
-Sharon and Carol for educating the community at a recent Indiana Criminal Justice Association meeting!
-Julia for her continued work on the fair trade shopping guide, as well as her design expertise!

Upcoming Opportunities :
NOW --> check U-ACT's June blog update or facebook.com/IndyUACT to sign the online petition presented by IJM
July 29, 2011, 7-9pm --> Freedom Drive film screening at Friedens UCC (volunteers needed! please email if available!)
Sept 7, 2011 --> Sex+Money film screening, location TBA
Fall 2011 --> Love146 fundraiser
*We are looking for someone to step up and organize a fundraiser for Love146. If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, please contact Kaylin Linnemann at k.linnemann7@gmail.com

July Agenda:
1.Guest speaker Jen Mukes from the non-profit byTavi will be presenting! Don't miss an opportunity to learn about this great local organization! Learn more at byTavi.com, shop online at www.etsy.com/shop/byTavi?amp&, or follow them on Twitter @byTavi
2.Updates from Julia about the fair trade shopping guide!
3.New legislative opportunities, including upcoming visits to Senator Lugar's office


Sarah and Laura
co-founders, U-ACT
www.u-act.org
Twitter @IndyUACT
Facebook "IndyUACT"

2011 TIP Report

The 2011 TIP Report was released this week. Check it out :)

Community Outreach Survey

WE WANT YOUR OPINIONS!

In an effort to provide you with opportunities you are interested in pursuing, please help us by completing the following survey and sending us your opinions via email at info@u-act.org. Thank you for your time and ideas!

Community Outreach Survey
1. What types of community outreach activities would interest you?
2. Do you have conflicts/hesitations/concerns about participating in community outreach? If yes, can you elaborate?
3. If we choose to organize a door-to-door outreach event, what items would be helpful to bring with us?
4. Do you have any suggestions for outreach guidelines? i.e. safety, courtesy, distribution of accurate information?

Moving Forward!

As many of you may know, U-ACT is nearing it's 2 year anniversary, and we could not be more excited. We also could not be more thankful to and appreciative of our many, many talented volunteers who continually offer their time, energy, creativity, and resources to fight human trafficking. Thank you thank you thank you!!

In light of U-ACT's growth over the past few years, we are happy to announce that U-ACT now owns the domain www.u-act.org! As of now, this domain will redirect to this blog site, but it also leaves room for us to expand in the future. Along with this domain, we have acquired a new email account, so please direct all future email inquiries to info@u-act.org.

As always, if you have questions, comments, or ideas, please contact us! We value your input!

Sarah and Laura
co-founders, U-ACT