Last fall, a friend of mine called to tell me about her amazing idea. Her CRAZY idea to raise a half a million dollars to fund organizations that fight human trafficking and slavery. What? That's crazy! Well, through her idea, ShesWorthItCampaign.com was created. Dozens of people came together to say, "YES!" we care. Each person has assembled a team to help them raise funds and awareness. And from that idea, another idea was born. Keep reading!!
Is slavery alive today?
Yes, absolutely.
500,000 chidren between the ages of 5 and 15 years are forced into the sex trade every year.
For this campaign, we have focused on the girls and women trapped in sexual slavery / sex trafficking / forced prostitution, though we strongly support the rescue and freedom of young boys, men and entire families from every sort of slavery!
So what?
I've assembled a team, chosen worthy organizations to support and we are going to make a difference.
We're going to MAKE gifts to deliver to women and girls who are rehabilitating from this forced sexual slavery. Bracelets that let them know they are loved. Zipper pouches to show them someone cares. UPDATE: You made and they knew they were loved. Thank you!
They are LOVED.
So we're asking YOU to join us. Will you make a bracelet or a pouch for a girl in Thailand, India, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Amsterdam or even the United States? We'll be distributing them through many organizations that work directly with women and girls fresh out of the sex trade in desperate need of love and healing. UPDATE: We are not accepting bracelets & pouches at this time because I am in the middle of a move.
Do you want to help?
We're also asking that you donate $10. Just $10. Your $10 will be helping fund two projects we fully believe in. (If you can't donate, we'd still love for you to make something!)
- Father's House: a safe house for children in Cambodia who are at risk for being trafficked. This home is run by In His Steps International. You can read more about it here.
- The Sewing Project: we'll be raising money for a group of mothers in an Indian village who have been freed from the sex industry and are learning sewing as a trade! The funds will also help hire a social worker to help them with them with rehabilitation. This project is run by Indian Rescue Mission.
- Bracelets & Zipper Pouch Project: These items will be mailed to ME and I will send them to the organizer of She's Worth It who will be hand delivering some in Cambodia during her May trip there. She will be dividing the rest and delivering them to the organizations sponsored by She's Worth It. You can see all the organizations HERE. Thank you! We are no longer accepting bracelets and zipper pouches. You may continue to donate money. THANK YOU!
The donations are tax deductable and it ALL goes to the organizations that have been vetted and chosen (minus credit card fees). Psalm 82.3 Ministries (a registered non-profit) is collecting all the money and will distribute 100% to the organizations we have chosen. They are not witholding a fee but have graciously offered to help us collect the money and distribute since we are just a group of women and not a registered non-profit. You can read the details here.
Our 3 purposes:
- Raise awareness of the issue.
- Raise funds for the organizations that are doing the hard work.
- Give the victims a small token to know that even if they've been told they are trash, or not worth caring for, WE care about them. They are LOVED.
Ready to help? Use YOUR talents!
If you want to join us, please send me an email at thetraintocrazy (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll make sure you have all the information you need and my address to mail your bracelets and zipper pouches! I'll be attaching a little note letting the recipient they are loved before they are sent out. I'll also be updating the blog and photographing everything that comes in! With each new blogger that joins and each new tutorial I'll add a link to this page.
Grab a button to share the She's Worth It project with others!
UPDATE: Thank you for donating! We are not accepting bracelets and pouches at this time because I am moving. You can follow She's Worth It on facebook. There was a recent video of recipients saying Thank You!
How do you talk to kids about this issue? Check out this great post.
We've had the questions: Why don't we make them clothes? After all, that's what we do!
The answer: Making clothes and shipping it the the victims is an inefficient use of funds AND can disrupt the local economy. This study suggests that the influx of clothing sent from charities to Africa explains roughly 40% of the decline in production and 50% of the decline in employment over the period 1981–2000. We feel that if a victim needs clothing the best way to get that to her is to donate money to an organization that helps them rehabilitate and get back on their feet.
Meet the group of bloggers working with me: (new team members added at bottom of post)
Bev from Flamingo Toes
Jess from If Only They Would Nap
Jess from Me Sew Crazy
Vanessa from Designs by Sessa
Ginger from Let's Give Today
Sew Country Chick, Handmade Dress Haven, Craft as Therapy, Hopeful Threads, Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy Crafts
