Love146

  We asked Raphiella a middle school student from the U.S. "what does it mean to be a slave?" 
She said: "what it means to be a slave is when people don't appreciate you and how you look and [it means] how they mistreat you the way they think you don't have any sense of humor, you don't have anything in your body you just have tears and you just have fear." We then asked her “how do you know someone loves you?”  “Because they appreciate you and hug you.”

  Margaret Walker said that [Love] “makes you big inside.” It is an ever expansion, an invitation, a freedom. Love is the greatest gift of all. Love lives in each one of us and invites others in. Love is found in the faces of mothers, fathers, friends. It lives in the hands that bring healing and end slavery. It breathes through words that give freedom and break chains. Love frees each child from a disgusting cage and whispers, 

  Hope, abolition, restoration, it is all found in Love.  Love knows that you have a sense of humor, knows that you are beautiful and it frees your body of the years that tears and fear have been your only friends. Love always sings back your own song and wraps your body in safe embrace, replacing the cage. 

  As many of you know, we have been tirelessly working on our new round safehome in the Philippines. As we near our completion date in April, we have taken time to reflect on the magnitude of this responsibility.  The responsibility of this great love. That is why this Valentine's Day we are focusing on our prevention efforts.  Our reflections bring us to the fact that the best safehome, is one that is eventually empty.  

  So, this Valentine’s Day we need to raise $15,000.  This money will be used to develop an animated video, beginning in the Philippines and reaching thousands of children across Asia. This animation is the third installment of a series dedicated to educate children on issues of sexual abuse. The video will specifically deal with the issues of trafficking. This series has seen tremendous prevention success already.  This ongoing project will prevent children from knowing sexual slavery and exploitation. 

Because Valentine’s Day is all about Love:
Consider a Donation
Throw a Valentine’s Day dinner and raise funds
Give your Love a gift that changes lives (Ecards, New Tshirts)
We need your partnership this Valentine’s Day season. Please consider giving.

I will be sending email updates with funds raised for our V-Day Project and to tease you with a Program launch we will be announcing before the end of February.

with Love as always,

Desirea Rodgers
Co-Founder/Creative Director

          Check out our winning t-shirt design here!  This t-shirt was designed by Jonathan Bowden of Kreathaus . (take a look at his other work!)  
 
To send an E-card, go here