In today’s world one in four victims of slavery are children, and 10 million children are considered slaves!  300,000 child soldiers are forced to fight wars, 700 million women alive today are married as children, and 17.2 million children are working as domestic workers.  A new partnership with the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery and Freedom United is giving Rotarians a chance to do something to stop it.   Freedom United is a nonprofit organization that has mobilized millions of partners, activists and advocates through online campaigns to convince governments and companies to end slavery. 

 

Through its website, Rotary clubs of any size can sign up to form “freedom rings,” which raise community awareness of slavery while sharing information with one another through an online platform.  Freedom United helps Rotary clubs plan a two-hour community event by arranging speakers that can include experts, survivors, and representatives of local nonprofits that are already fighting modern slavery.  One of these rings in Chattanooga, Tennessee is planning a gala fundraiser; in Raleigh, NC a walk/run to raise awareness is planned.  And another ring is organizing a “red sand project,” where volunteers sprinkle red sand in the cracks of city streets to represent all the people in the world who are enslaved.  And in Johnson City, New York – purple pinwheels were planted in a major traffic circle.

 

Support from People in Action to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.