It’s the beginning of the New Year, so why not start a New Year’s resolution to help end Modern-Day Slavery?
There are currently 27 million slaves in the world right now- more than any other time in history. Together, we can do something about it.
Here are five simple ways to help end slavery in your lifetime.
- Free the Slaves 2011 “Freedom Photo” winner
1) Tell 10 people that you know that slavery still exists.
Words are powerful. So is social media. Send a simple message via Facebook or Twitter to 10 of your best friends– have them send a message to 10 of their friends– and so on. Slaves risk their lives to tell their stories because they believe that if enough of us know about slavery, we’ll do something about it.
2) Be an ethical shopper.
Slavery is in many of the products that we use every day– from our electronics to chocolate. Knowing where your products come from is essential to stopping the modern-day slave trade. Do your research and find out whether the items in your shopping bag are tainted by slavery. The Guardian recommends shopping apps such as the GSG Ethical Shopping App or Barcoo to check out an orgaization’s ethical history. (As a note, Free the Slaves doesn’t endorse any of these products.) If you’re on the business side, pick up a copy of Free the Slaves’ “A Guide to Becoming a Slavery-Free Business,” to ensure that you’re not selling products with slavery in them.
3) Lobby your school or your children’s school and get them to teach a course on modern-day slavery.
After students and parents lobbied Harvard, they adopted a course on modern-day slavery into their curricula. If you want to help educate the next generation of abolitionists, you can also join Free the Slaves’ Freedom Education Project on IndieGoGo, which will send 27 copies of Slavery: The Book and multimedia packages to schools and libraries in California. The best part? All of the proceeds go towards the Free the Slaves “Free a Village, Build A Movement” initiative, which helps free people from slavery.
4) Throw a fundraiser.
Whether throwing impromptu talent shows or hosting documentary screenings, everyone gets creative when it comes to ending slavery! We’ve had people rally their whole communities when they find out the truth about slavery. Check out this page for ideas on how to throw your own benefit.
5) Donate.
One of the easiest– and fastest– ways to help is to donate. Free the Slaves works directly on the front lines to free people from slavery and help them re-build their lives.
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