Monday, August 24, 2009

The Power of Piggy Banks & Road Trips


All over the nation ordinary people are rallying together to do extraordinary things that are leading the way towards ending child sex slavery & exploitation. People are throwing benefit shows, creating art, writing letters and meeting together to move with us in this journey to abolition. Many people are starting taskforces in their area to be a voice for Love146 and the youth in their own communities.

I have had the privilege of meeting with taskforces across the nation. These small groups of people that are working creatively to raise the banner of freedom for children have inspired me. They think outside the box and are willing to work hard. One of my favorite groups is this funky little teen taskforce in NY. We lovingly refer to them as the Long Island Teen Taskforce. They have baked cookies, hosted bowl-a-thons, and even dyed students’ hair bright blue in their high school to raise money and awareness about Love146. I love getting updates about what they will do next. Their fearless leaders are two teachers that have a heart for kids and abolition, Ed & Kristi.

With banners, buttons, the story of 146 to share and a good GPS system

Ed and Kristi hit the road and spent their last week of summer traveling around the North East spreading the word about Love146. From New Hampshire to Ohio, they helped to set up more teen taskforces and encouraged everyone they met to get involved with ending slavery! TV stations, newspapers, youth groups, high schools and churches welcomed them and joined this movement of abolition.

Among those that were encouraged was a little 7-year-old girl who walked up to Kristi, bought a Love146 patch and literally emptied out her piggy bank into the donations jar. She looked up at Kristi as she poured out her savings with a smile and said “Saving little kids like me.”

What a beautiful picture!

Today I’m wondering what our world would look like if we all emptied our piggy banks to bring hope, life and freedom to others. What would it look like if we, like Ed & Kristi, poured out our vacation time to work towards sharing the story of the broken?

Ed & Kristi, thanks for inspiring us. Keep up the good work!

To love, road-trips, piggy banks and abolition!


Kellen

1 comment:

beth said...

this is awesome!!
luv u guys<3