If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know my passion for ending human trafficking – or “modern day slavery” as so many call it. I have been involved with an amazing local organization called Transforming Hope Ministries since 2011 and I’ve seen first hand the impact they are making – both small and large – in the community.

Tomorrow is a major day in the world of “human trafficking awareness” and because this is an issue I feel so passionate about, I wanted to share more about it with you…

End it Day is TOMORROW.

Tomorrow is “End It Day”, when people all over the world get their red sharpies out and put a red X on their hands, take a selfie, post it on social media, and pledge to do their part to end human trafficking. It’s a good day in that it is encouraging to see SO MANY people utilizing social media together to make such a great statement. I see far too many times where social media is used to bully or vent or negatively impact someone in some way. So, I’m totally behind anyone attempting to use social media for something so positive.

Here’s the thing though… too often we get caught up in the virtual collaboration and we forget that we actually CAN do something in real life. I’ve seen the smallest act make the biggest difference. So nothing is a wasted effort when done genuinely and wholeheartedly.

If you’re not sure where to start in doing your part to end human trafficking, Transforming Hope Ministries has created a PLEDGE with a list of about 15 other ways (besides signing the pledge) to get involved and really do your part to end human trafficking. PLUS, you don’t even have to be local to do some of the things listed. Check it out the pledge here! And share it with your friends and family. 

If you do participate in End it Day, please don’t simply let this be a day to post a selfie and move on. Do your research. Understand how prevalent human trafficking is in America, in areas where you’d least expect it to happen and to people you’d least expect it to happen to. Look a little closer at situations that may seem just not right and report them to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-3737-888). You can do it anonymously and if nothing was wrong, it’s okay.

Better to be safe than sorry than to allow exploitation to continue.

I hope you’ll join us tomorrow on social media with your red X and selfie. Be sure to use the hashtag #EndItMovement. You can also use the hashtags #TheHopeEffect, #BeTheEffect, and #TransformingHope to show your local support. More importantly, I hope you’ll join me during the rest of the year as well! If you’re participating in the red X and selfie posts, please post them in the comments below too! I’d love to see who participates!

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Portions of this post were originally written by my dear friend Abbi Tenaglia, founder of Transforming Hope Ministries. I added more info and all that jazz for the purposes of this blog. I am on the Board of Directors for Transforming Hope and I am happy to speak with anyone and answer questions about issues with regards to human trafficking. 🙂