I guess I've been naive. Of course I've heard about human trafficking. But I never quite realized that it was happening right here, and was as common of an occurence as it is. Did you know that out of the 27,000,000 people held in slavery worldwide, 17,500 of those people are sold here in the U.S. every year? That is, modern-day slavery by kidnapping, purchasing, recruiting, and transportating human beings against their will for forced labor or sexual slavery. Human beings that are just like us, someone's daughter, sister, or best friend.  Children as young as four years old. Some are U.S. citizens, some are immigrants brought here under false pretenses. They're deceived, threatened, raped, or beaten. Being held in deplorable environments, where they're forced to serve up to 72 customers in a single day is a sad yet common occurence. It's a nightmare they are forced to live through every day.

That is, until the day that someone helps them out of it. 

That's where we all come in. Join A21 Carolinas this Sunday evening to hear about the realities of human trafficking and find out local solutions. And not that you really need another reason, but your ticket also includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, as well as an art installation by local artists. 

Be Her Freedom. Get involved, share this post, buy tickets, donate, make a difference. And please, please watch this video. All of it. 

I'll see you there.

Untitled from AWebGuy on Vimeo.