Last month happened to be Human Trafficking Awareness Month and on Sunday, January 19th, Shepherd’s Grove held a luncheon for about 50 people to raise awareness about human trafficking and provide options for getting involved locally. Human trafficking is defined as “the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation” (Oxford). According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, this act of crime denies freedom to over 24.9 million people across the globe.
On February 16th we had Christine Caine come for an interview. Christine and her husband Nick founded A21, which is a human trafficking organization that aims to abolish modern-day slavery through “awareness, intervention, and aftercare.” According to Christine, human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world.
One of the ways we can be involved and help as a church family is by supporting organizations that are helping in the prevention and restoration of human trafficking victims in and around Orange County. This March, we are having a drive to support these organizations.
Here’s how you can help! Purchase as many of the following items as you want and bring them by the Outreach table anytime during the month of March.
- $10 gift cards for Dollar Tree, In-N-Out Burger, Chick-Fil-A, and Starbucks
- $20 gift cards for Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Kroger
- Spray-on sunscreen of any size and quantity, but it must be spray-on!
All of these items will go directly to the following organizations…
The Salvation Army Anti-Trafficking, Orange County: This organization is starting a new gift card program to both reward and incentivize women living in their safe-houses, who have achieved certain goals as part of their restoration process. Gift cards to Dollar Tree or Walmart are especially prized as these are used to buy basic personal necessities. For more information click here: The Salvation Army Anti-Trafficking OC.
PLUR Life Ministries: Raves are quite popular, but human trafficking and other dangerous situations exist for teens and young adults at raves. PLUR stands for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, the common theme for the rave culture. PLUR Life is a group of Christian rave parents who share the Gospel, help kids in trouble and rescue those in danger at EDM concerts around the country. PLUR’s outreach teams are unique because they are made up of older moms and dads! Here’s a short video on what PLUR does and the rave moms in action.
If you have any questions please contact Curtis Drever, Director of Missions and Outreach at curtis.drever@shepherdsgrove.org, or stop by the Outreach table.