An ambassador is an individual that takes on the challenge of supporting one of our international projects. They encourage family and friends to donate to the project of their choice. In Matt Harper’s case, that was Cambodia. He took it upon himself to research trafficking patterns in Cambodia, and spread the knowledge of what he learned to his family and friends.

For more information about how you can become an ambassador, check out: www.notforsalecampaign.org/international-projects/ambassadors/

Here is what Matt has to say about his experience:

If it is possible to get to know someone through a blurb, the two questions that will help you get to know me seem to be, “What in my life has most shaped me and what in my life got me to being selected as the Top Ambassador this month?” Well, my family loves – anything and everything. That love brought us to the dinner table every night growing up, which shaped each one of us in our own way. We talked about life, we questioned decisions made and we shared our ups and downs all over some fajitas or rotisserie chicken. But one day the time came to move from my family and the beautiful southern California weather to my next life experience. I entrusted once more the ever-inspiring (and occasionally “problematic”) Jesuits with guiding my development and now find myself in Worcester, Massachusetts at the College of the Holy Cross where I am halfway through my junior year. I have been privileged enough to travel the world as well as our country and it is my desire for new experiences that has brought me to question two.

I was introduced to Not For Sale only four months ago (a blip in my being) by my classmate, now friend, and NFS state director Jamee Herbert. Through her enthusiasm and the commitment and hard work of many individuals and groups on my campus, we were able to bring David and Brant here for the Backyard Abolitionist Tour. By the end of their presentation I was ready to commit myself and commit myself rather seriously. I became a Young Ambassador and now, only a few weeks after beginning my work, have exceeded my financial goal of $1200. I owe any and all recognition from this to my friends and family who have shown and continue to show faith in me. This financial goal is important but it isn’t enough. I know that no amount of money will solve the horrors many find themselves trapped in. So, I have also committed myself to examining the root causes of Cambodian trafficking, investigating possible solutions and doing what I can to effect changes in the structures that perpetuate this problem. It’s a lot to bite off and maybe more than I can reasonably expect to make a dent in, but this is commitment, real commitment, and I don’t do enough of that.

I recently came across a quote from Annie Besant that I would like to finish with. “Plenty of people wish well to any good cause, but very few care to exert themselves to help it, and still fewer will risk anything in its support. ‘Some one ought to do it, but why should I?’ is the ever reëchoed phrase of weak-kneed amiability. ‘Some one ought to do it, so why not I?’ is the cry of some earnest servant of man, eagerly forward springing to face some perilous duty. Between these two sentences lie whole centuries of moral evolution.” I am not this servant, not yet and maybe never completely. But it seems to be a process worth undertaking, in whatever way we each might be called to. I wish you the best in your process.

Peace.

https://nfs.webconnex.com/mattharper

February 21st is just days away! Freedom Sunday will be an unprecedented event as churches and ministries around the world sing, proclaim, pray, give, and act in opposition to human trafficking.

PARTICIPATE: Visit the Underground Church Network Map (www.ucnmap.org) to see if a congregation in your area is observing Freedom Sunday.

WATCH: Freedom Sunday will be streamed LIVE from North Coast Calvary Church in Carlsbad, CA (host of the 2009 Global Forum on Human Trafficking). Tune in from anywhere in the world via the Not For Sale USTREAM page or www.freedomsunday.org.

Churches will be celebrating Freedom Sunday in Canada, Poland, Uganda, Pakistan, Denmark, India, Thailand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, the USA, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Jamaica, and underground in China and Vietnam.

Join them this Sunday in the international movement for freedom.

Stay tuned for upcoming information on Freedom Shabbat & the Jewish Abolitionist Movement!

Every year on Valentines Day we purchase chocolate and other wonderful gifts for those we love and care about.  These same delicious boxes of chocolate that signify love and care to us might mean pain and suffering to others.  A recent report by the Department of Labor documented that some chocolate we consume is still tainted by forced labor.   The report highlighted that forced and child labor continue to occur in a region that produces 70% of the worlds chocolate nine years after these labor abuses were exposed.

This Sunday, Feb.21, 9am PST

Today is Freedom Sunday!! An unprecedented event where 600 churches and ministries around the world are singing, proclaiming, praying, giving, and acting in opposition to human trafficking.

PARTICIPATE: Visit the Underground Church Network Map (www.ucnmap.org) to see if a congregation in your area is observing Freedom Sunday.

WATCH: Freedom Sunday will be streamed LIVE from North Coast Calvary Church in Carlsbad, CA (host of the 2009 Global Forum on Human Trafficking). Tune in from anywhere in the world via the Not For Sale USTREAM page or www.freedomsunday.org.

Churches will be celebrating Freedom Sunday in Canada, Poland, Uganda, Pakistan, Denmark, India, Thailand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, the USA, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Jamaica, and underground in China and Vietnam.

Join them this Sunday in the international movement for freedom.

Stay tuned for upcoming information on Freedom Shabbat & the Jewish Abolitionist Movement!

200 advocates ascended upon Capital Hill Tuesday March 2nd to support legislation that would block imported goods if they are produced under exploitation.  Frustrated by their possible connection to slavery the modern-day abolitionists participated in meetings with 70 different Congressional Offices to support crucial language within the Customs Enforcement and Trade Reauthorization that would establish the Office on Labor Enforcement tasked with investigating goods tainted by slavery.

The advocates kicked off a month long effort by the campaign to focus support needed legislative efforts to address trafficking. The next Global Advocacy Days event will be in Ottawa Canada on March 25th and 26th where Canadian citizens will fight to end slavery.

To Register for Advocacy Days Canada click here! Space is Limited!

Questions? Contact endglobalslavery hailing from notforsalecampaign from the TLD of org

Not For Sale Campaign, along with our many partner organizations like Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), are hosting awareness events beginning on January 11^th and running until President Lincoln’s birthday on February 12^th. For a list of events occurring in San Francisco Click Here or for a list of events occurring in Los Angeles Click Here.

Continue to check the  Not For Sale Campaign calender for update list of events!

In mid-December Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill for FY2010, covering six agencies (Transportation-HUD; Commerce-Justice-Science; Financial Services; Labor-HHS; Military Construction-VA; and State-Foreign Operations).  The bill included needed funding increases to fight human trafficking and provide services to survivors.

Some of the agency highlights include:

• Human Trafficking Prosecution United (HTPU) within the Department of Justice (DOJ): 5.3 Million or 50% increase from last year to improve the units ability to tackle the 600% increase in cases over the past 4 years.
• Human Smuggling and Trafficking Prosecution Unit in DOJ: Saw their budget increase by 25% from 2009-2010.
• Victim Service: Department of Health and Human Services and other related agencies were granted 12.5 million for victim assistance, a 25% increase from last year.

The Not For Sale Campaign is a proud member of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of human trafficking organizations which lead efforts to secure the unprecedented increase in funding for victim services and programs to combat trafficking.  Over the past year ATEST members worked together to connect with congressional members and their staff to support the funding levels authorized by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.

ATEST is a project of the Silicon Valley-based philanthropic organization Humanity United.