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The 2009
Capital City Ball will raise money and awareness to
support the fight against human trafficking and modern-day
slavery. Proceeds will benefit Innocents at Risk,
Polaris Project and The Emancipation Network. |
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INNOCENTS AT RISK
Since 2004,
Innocents at Risk has been doing essential work to create
awareness of the global threat of human trafficking in the
United States and abroad. This illicit industry, which
generates over $32 billion annually, is the
fastest-growing criminal business in the world and the
most lucrative, second to drug trafficking. The numbers
are staggering. More than 3,000,000 women and children are
sold into servitude annually; 18,000 enter the United
States by train, car or plane; and 244,000 are trafficked
within the U.S.
In 2008, Innocents at Risk
launched the Flight Attendant Initiative, providing
approximately one-third of American Airlines' 19,000
flight attendants with its brochure, Protecting Women and
Children from Human Trafficking. The brochure alerts
flight attendants to the signs of trafficking and gives
them the National Human Trafficking Resource Center
(NHTRC) hotline number (1-888-3737888) plus other critical
information. As a result, dozens of flight attendants have
called the hotline to report potential victims, and lives
are being saved. The Flight Attendant Initiative, recently
named "Blue Lightning," is supported by the U.S.
State Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and
Border Protections, and countless non-governmental
organizations in the United States and around the globe.
To find out more visit www.innocentsatrisk.org
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POLARIS PROJECT
Polaris Project's vision is for a world
without slavery. Named after the North Star that guided
slaves toward freedom along the Underground Railroad,
Polaris Project has been providing a comprehensive
approach to combating human trafficking and modern-day
slavery since 2002.
Polaris Project is one of the largest
anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and
Japan, with programs operating at international, national
and local levels through our offices in Washington, DC;
Newark, NJ; Denver, CO; and Tokyo, Japan. Polaris Project
is one of the few organizations working on all forms of
trafficking and serving both citizen and foreign national
victims of human trafficking.
Polaris Project's holistic approach to
combating human trafficking includes conducting direct
outreach and victim identification, providing social
services and transitional housing to victims, operating
the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC),
serving as the central national hotline on human
trafficking, advocating for stronger state and federal
anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community
members in local and national grassroots efforts.
Since its founding, Polaris Project has
been the recipient of numerous awards and honors for its
achievements including: Ashoka Innovators for the Public,
Marie Claire's 10 Best Charities, the 2006 Justice for
Victims of Crime Award given by the Department of Justice,
the DO Something BRICK award, the Washington Area Women's
Foundation Leadership Award 2004 and 2009, and honors from
Lifetime Television, Body Shop, and CNN.
To find out more visit www.polarisproject.org.
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THE EMANCIPATION NETWORK
The Emancipation Network (TEN) is an
international organization dedicated to fighting human
trafficking and modern-day slavery. TEN fights slavery by
empowering survivors and people at high risk to rebuild
their lives. Individuals and communities become
slavery-proof with jobs, job training, education,
aftercare and reintegration. As part of the effort to
create jobs and raise money, the Made By Survivors project
run by TEN sells handcrafted products on the Internet.
Beautiful clothing, jewelry, gifts, home decor items and
more can be found at www.MadeBySurvivors.com. TEN uses the
profits to provide help and hope to others rescued from
slavery.
Destiny Productions is TEN's newest
initiative to help human trafficking survivors become
fully independent, and to slavery-proof them and their
children into the future. TEN's handicraft programs at
Destiny Center offer survivors a job that enables them to
support themselves and live a meaningful, independent
life. For those still living at a shelter, handicrafts
programs provide therapeutic benefits, job training,
literacy, social interaction, and a stipend for part-time
work.
To find out more visit www.tencharities.org.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES
For media inquiries, email
Media@CapitalCityBall.org
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