The Latest Count

It's been a while since we last updated you on the amount collected. We've been a little busy counting and rolling. With just 33 cups/baggies of change returned and a couple of sweet donations, McKenna has raised $607.87 to help provide aftercare to people rescued from slavery. Wow! Almost half way to her goal. Thanks so much!

The Reality of Human Trafficking

What are the facts?
• According to the United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, an estimated 20 million people were held in bonded slavery as of 1999.
• In 2004 there are more slaves than were seized from Africa during four centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade. (Kevin Bales, Disposable People)
• In 1850 a slave in the Southern United States cost the equivalent of $40,000 today. According to Free the Slaves, a slave today costs an average of $90.
• Approximately two-thirds of today’s slaves are in South Asia. Human Rights Watch estimates that in India alone there are as many as 15 million children in bonded slavery.

If I had a nickel for every....

.....dandelion. Every spring I wage war against the dandelions that flourish in our front yard. I remember as a kid, my dad used to pay my brother and me per dandelion we extracted from the lawn. Knowing full well that the Brown kids are often in need of cash, I offered them a nickel per dandelion. Apparently they don't need the money, because not one of them took me up on my offer. Okay, I know your thinking a nickel doesn't sound like a lot, but when you can uproot 60 to 100 dandelions daily in half hour tops, it's not a bad gig. Nearly every day I grab my dandelion tool (a gift from my husband after I broke a pair of clippers uprooting them) and head out to the front yard and remove 30, 60 or 100 of them. Once I'm done, I head straight to Garrett's bowl of dwindling poker money and pull out the amount I would have paid the kids and put it into our little green cup. Several cups have been filled along the way. Though I have been diligent and have depleted Garrett's poker fund, I seem to be losing my war against the dandelions, but have collected a whole lot of change along the way.

Hmm...what's a giraffe have to do with human trafficking?

Okay, not much, except that last week we spent the day at the SF Zoo. As we sat in the overpriced cafe eating a less than tasty lunch, Delaney noticed a couple of shiny objects on the floor and went to investigate. She came back with a dime and a penny to add to her cup of loose change. Eleven cents to add to the cause. My mom has always said, "if you are too rich to pick up a penny, you are too rich". She and my dad find loose change all the time on their nightly walks. Last year, they decided to put all the money they found on the street in a jar of its own to see just how much they collected in a years time. Over $40! Can you believe it? They did find a couple of bills along the way, but that's a whole lot of change.

Today's Totals

98 cups been handed out.
Still 102 to go.
17 bags of coins donated.
Amount raised so far............$198.55
And, McKenna's cousin Sef heard about the
cause and convinced his high school jazz band
to donate $100 to the cause for a grand total
of $298.55. Thanks Sef!

Call + Response

Last year a small production company with a tiny budget made a big splash with the Rockumentary, Call + Response, a collaborative film chronicling the evils of sexual slavery through undercover footage, expert testimony, and live music. International Justice Mission president and founder, Gary Haugen, is featured in the film commenting on the global epidemic and the hope that organizations like his offer to those resuced from these criminal operations.

Keep collecting your change - it can really make a difference! And if you're interested in seeing this film there is a screening at San Jose State University on April 28.