Sunday, February 21, 2010

Making Progress

The New Year is off to a great start for Love146’s New York City Task Force. First off, a church in Park Slope, Brooklyn hosted a fundraiser on February 26 and raised $2500! There was music, comedy, and auctioning galore. About 70 people showed up and the night was a raving success. Our own Sarah and Chuck Council even volunteered their evening to sell t-shirts and sold $125 worth, while Derek Devine spoke briefly and showed Love146's "Imagine" video. There were great items up for auction, many of which included volunteer's personal time, such as babysitting, white water rafting lessons, and a personally knitted cap, just to name a few. It was great to see a community come together and use their money, time and skill sets to create change.

The New York task force is also kicking awareness up by distributing fliers throughout the city. Members can now print out fliers with pull tabs that include Love146’s website on them. The next time they go to their favorite coffee shop or restaurant, they just pull one out of their bag and post it on the corkboard that can be found in many establishments in the city. This is just one more way that the NYC Task Force is working hard to make the group and the issue known.

There’s a lot more to come this year, including a Men’s Initiative that will focus on education, awareness, and prevention efforts to address the demand side of sex trafficking. The raising awareness group is also focusing on education and is putting together a curriculum and list of schools to visit this spring to talk about the dangers and prevention of sex trafficking. And lastly, there is a spring fundraiser in the works! Stay tuned for more information on all of these initiatives!